Julie-Ann Campbell (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

In my first speech in this place, I was honoured to honour some former immigrants to this country—my family. Members of the Moo family arrived in Australia in the late 1800s, settling in Darwin. Moo Yat Fah worked as a labourer on the construction of the Darwin to Pine Creek railroad, like many other people. Deputy Speaker Scrymgour, I know many people in your electorate have this history as well. Many Australians of Chinese heritage worked on that railroad, and they were a key driver of the economy throughout the Northern Territory. Around the same time, my po po's family, the Lau Gooeys, left China for Melbourne. My po po's father found work there as a slaughterman, helping drive local businesses and the economy in Victoria. It's almost 140 years that my family has been in this country.

This story of migrants is not unique. It is not unique because migrants have been coming to this country for generations. And, when they come, we expect, with our values, to ensure that they are not exploited at work. What we have heard from the member for Mitchell is that the coalition does not want to support legislation whose only purpose is to ensure that migrant workers are not exploited when they go to the workplace.

Immigrant stories are Australian stories. There are Australian stories and immigrant stories linked to our core values of a fair go and mateship. People have been migrating to Australia for work for generations. In the years following the arrival of the English on these shores, migrant groups became synonymous with certain waves of immigration and certain types of work—the Chinese who worked the goldfields; the Afghan cameleers who assisted in the exploration of the outback; the Japanese pearl divers who boosted the development of the pearl industry; and also, shamefully, the South Sea Islanders who were brought to work on sugarcane farms in Queensland. In 1863, the first group of manual labourers arrived. Over the next 40 years, more than 62,000 Pacific island men, women and children were sent to work on those canefields. Some were kidnapped, some were blackbirded and others were misled about the work and conditions. Many were never paid. In fact, nearly 30 per cent of these workers died in Australia due to vulnerability to European illnesses. These people weren't just robbed of their wages; they were robbed of their families, of basic conditions and, in many cases, of their lives. From 1885 to 1901, the Queensland government managed the wages of deceased islanders. Little effort was made to send their wages to their families back home, with the amount misappropriated worth around $40 million today.

I raise this appalling part of our history for two reasons. Firstly, it's to remind ourselves that, while migration is foundational to the Australian story and the development of our multicultural identity, it is also important to acknowledge that in that history are policies, legislation, exploitation and mistreatment that are shameful and deeply regrettable. In this place, we must always acknowledge and not forget such things. I also mention it because the exploitation and mistreatment of migrants is unfortunately not something consigned to past centuries. It is happening now. Unlike the coalition, who, in rejecting this bill, choose to put their heads in the sand, we choose to stand up against it.

Today, it is sadly not uncommon to hear of migrant workers being subjected to deceptive recruitment strategies—bullying, wage theft, excessive and surprise deductions from pay, and substandard working conditions. It wasn't okay when it happened all those decades ago. It isn't okay when it's happening now. It will not be okay. This legislation is trying to stop it.

The United Nations special rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery describes the main issue as:

… a significant power imbalance between employers and workers, since employees are either tied to a single employer, and mobility is reported to be extremely difficult, and/or dependent on their employer for extension of contracts or nomination for permanent residency.

This is why the Albanese Labor government has introduced the Migration Amendment (Combatting Migrant Exploitation) Bill 2025.

In December 2023, the Albanese Labor government released a migration strategy, a modern, purpose built framework for managing migration that includes temporary visa skilled pathways. This strategy is central to the government's pledge to repair the current migration system and ensure that it delivers better outcomes for migrants, the Australian economy and the wider community. The migration strategy was shaped through extensive engagement with business, unions and other stakeholders, drawing on more than 450 submissions received during the review of the migration system. It introduces reforms focused on temporary skilled migration to meet workforce needs and enhance worker mobility.

The strategy builds on the findings of a thorough, independent review of Australia's migration system, spearheaded by the former Minister for Home Affairs in September 2022 and led by three independent experts. As part of this process, the reviewers released a discussion paper and considered 483 written submissions, including many from individual migrants and visa applicants, the people in our community who are affected every day. They also held numerous roundtable consultations with peak bodies, unions and senior officials from state and territory governments. The final report of the Review of the Migration System was delivered in March 2023, and this bill meets a very key commitment of that strategy. It implements measures which will increase protections for temporary skilled migrant workers in Australia.

The central provision in this legislation is the creation of a comprehensive public register of approved work sponsors. In Australia it is necessary for an employer to be approved by the Department of Home Affairs before sponsoring the visa of a skilled worker. Under this legislation, these employers will be listed on a public register and the register will be limited to temporary visas where full sponsor obligations apply. The register will sit alongside the public register of approved sponsors which is published by the Australian Border Force.

The register will be hosted on the Department of Home Affairs website and will list key details about approved sponsors. These include the sponsor's name, the category or type of approval granted, their ABN and the postcode linked to that ABN. It will also state the number of workers they sponsor and the specific occupations of those workers.

By making this information publicly accessible, the register aims to strengthen transparency, improve accountability and support effective monitoring and oversight within the sponsorship system. This is about making sure that employers are held accountable and that there are pathways for migrant workers to ensure they are not exploited under a system that allows them to be. This is about closing that gap and making sure that, if you come to this country to work, then you can be entitled to, can expect to and deserve to be treated fairly in your workplace. It doesn't matter what the colour of your skin is, what language you speak or what faith you have, everyone deserves to be treated fairly in their workplace. Stamping out exploitation is part of who we are as a government and who we are as the Labor Party.

In addition to promoting openness, the register will serve as a practical tool to help address the exploitation of temporary skilled migrant workers. The addition of the postcode will assist migrant workers who are keen to move to a new location to find reputable employers. It will enable workers to identify and connect with alternative sponsors if needed and provide a reliable resource for verifying that a sponsoring employer is legitimate and compliant with regulatory requirements. Coming from another country to Australia to start work—coming here to deliver work for our economy—is a scary thing to do, and you need tools to make sure that you have a pathway that does not lead to exploitative workplace practices.

Disclosure of information on the register will be consistent with the Privacy Act. The register upholds the privacy of the sponsors by alerting them to the requirement during the process of sponsorship application. The register only provides information that is readily and publicly available, such as their ABN. The register will not include any identifying information relating to the nominated workers.

The measures in this bill were previously included in the Migration Amendment (Strengthening Sponsorship and Nomination Processes) Bill 2024, which lapsed before this year's election. The bill before us today does not include provisions that were included in the 2024 bill—these are the streamlining of labour market testing and the indexation of income thresholds. In December 2023, the government undertook initial work to streamline labour market testing. The number of advertisements required to reduce from three to two, removing the need to advertise on the Workforce Australia website. Any future changes to labour market testing will be considered by the government Similarly, in December 2024, the Department of Home Affairs revised the regulations to establish the income thresholds and their annual indexation for the 'skills in demand' visa. As a result, thresholds are automatically adjusted each year on 1 July and in accordance with changes to the average weekly ordinary time earnings.

This bill builds on the Albanese Labor government's commitment to reform and strengthen the temporary skilled migration system. These amendments to the Migration Act will foster trust in the system, protect vulnerable workers and ensure that sponsorship arrangements operate fairly and ethically.

In the first part of my speech, I dwelled on one of the dark episodes from our past. I want to stress, however, the positive experiences many migrants coming to these shores have had—not only the positive experiences that those migrants have had, but the positive impact that they have had on us as a country, the positive impact that they have had on our economy, the positive impact that they have had on our culture, the positive impact that they have had on our communities and the positive impact that they have had on us as a society. As we in this place know, Australia is a multicultural success story. It is built, in so many ways, on the hard work, the labours, efforts and input of people with migrant backgrounds.

I also want to focus on the essential role that migrants have played and continue to play in shaping Australia's success and in shaping our future. This has been the case for generations, like my family, and it will continue to be. You only have to look at the members of the Labor caucus to see the result of migration. You only have to look at people on this side of the chamber and their stories to know that we are a party that is proud of diversity and representation and a caucus that looks like the people in our community.

The contributions of migrants extend far beyond economic prosperity. They enrich our communities, strengthen our national identity and deepen our connections with countries across the depth and breadth of the globe. Migration brings that diversity, innovation and cultural exchange—all of which make Australia stronger and more vibrant. The Albanese Labor government firmly believes that every migrant has right to live safely and with a sense of security. It is our responsibility to hold up those rights, and this bill helps us to do that. We are that migration success story, but what we have seen of late, in that rich tapestry of migration that makes us stronger as a country, is people pulling at the threads of it, and we must always stand against that. This bill makes sure that migrant workers have protection and that we have their back. (Time expired)

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