The number of undocumented workers in Australia is estimated to be in excess of 100,000. The potential pool of visa holders with no or limited work rights is huge, including millions of visitors and students. Their circumstances, leave many of them thinking that they are without rights to the wages and conditions enjoyed by the rest of the workforce, and allow them to be exploited by unscrupulous employers, according to an article in The Conversation.

This is a growing phenomenon, but not a new one. The Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) reports a 10% increase in visa overstayers in the two years to 2013, to 62,700. 

In 2011, the federal government-commissioned Howells review described non-citizens working without permission as, “in simple numerical terms … the most significant problem facing Australian immigration authorities”.

A recent landmark study on overseas workers has revealed that almost four out five Chinese student visa workers in Sydney are paid below the minimum wage, with two out of five paid just $12 an hour or less. The study found that all those working as waiters were underpaid.

University of Sydney Business School lecturer Stephen Clibborn who conducted the study said he had surveyed 1,433 international students enrolled in Sydney, 19% of who had a part-time job. Of those 272 students:

• 60% said they were paid under the national minimum wage of $17.29 an hour;
• the lowest pay was $0 an hour, with 35% paid $12 an hour or less;
• 50% received no pay slip; and
• 35% said they felt threatened or unsafe at work;
• For Chinese students, 73.5% were paid under the min wage and 43% received $12 or less

In its latest annual report, the Fair Work Ombudsman said court actions involving overseas workers surged by 75% during 2014-15, with the majority involving the restaurant industry. An FWO statement noted that visa-holders now account for 11 per cent of all requests for assistance it receives. Last financial year, the Fair Work Ombudsman recovered $1.6 million in underpaid wages and entitlements for visa-holders – up from $1.1 million in 2013-14.