Sam Lim (Tangney, Australian Labor Party) | Hansard source

Modern Australia has been built by immigration on the land that our First Nations have cared for through countless generations. Except for them, we are all immigrants. One-third of workers in Australia are immigrants, one-fifth are not citizens, and seven per cent are temporary migrants. In most cases, they are highly skilled. Half of them are likely to already have a bachelor degree or postgrad. But being highly skilled seems to not be enough in Australia. It was the Albanese Labor government that raised the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold. Before that, it had not been updated in 10 years. Employers could get away with offering skilled migrants below market wages. Until this government made the decision to fix the complicated visa system, many qualified migrants were left with no option but to take unskilled jobs with much lower pay.

When you are granted a visa to come to Australia, you receive a notification from the Department of Home Affairs with a section that reads, 'All people working in Australia, including those from overseas, have rights and protections at work.' This is a part of our cultural DNA. It is a basic principle of giving everybody a fair go. It is recognising that we are a multicultural society, a country where many talented people of diverse origins can come to have a fulfilling career. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. According to statistics from the ABS and Fair Work, newly arrived migrant workers are more likely to be underpaid. As many as 16 per cent of migrant workers were paid below the minimum wage. That is 82,000 workers. Underpayment is just the first form of exploitation. Other forms include under-the-table cash payments, which contribute to employment insecurity. Underpaid super contributions, underpaid penalty rates, underpaid leave and unreasonable deductions for accommodation are also common practices.

So many workers are treated as if they do not belong. They are threatened with being reported to the authorities, even if they are lawful migrants. It is so much worse when this lack of empathy comes from the people elected to take care of everyone. In 2020, at the start of the pandemic, the then Prime Minister told migrants, 'It's time to go home.' I want to tell Mr Morrison: for many of them, many of us, Australia is home.

The disadvantages that many migrant workers face are not just a handicap for them; they have consequences for our economy. Employers that underpay workers gain an unfair advantage. Their competitors suffer from the pressure of having to reduce costs to survive. In a market where workers are underpaid, both Australian-born and immigrant workers lose bargaining power. This harms businesses that do the right thing; it harms workers regardless of where they are from; and it damages our reputation. Why would any skilled professional want to come to Australia if their rights won't be protected?

Our commitment is to protect the rights of workers, no matter where they come from. The Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Protecting Worker Entitlements) Act 2023, passed in June, guarantees that workers will continue to have the same rights and entitlements under workplace law regardless of their migration status. But it is necessary to take this a step further and implement the recommendation made by the Report of the Migrant Workers Taskforce. Introducing new criminal offences and increasing the maximum criminal and civil penalties for work related offences in the Migration Act will deter those employers seeking to exploit vulnerable workers. Breaching a work related visa condition should not be considered a criminal offence, and worker exploitation should be considered in decisions regarding visa cancellations. (Time expired)

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