Draft legislation means harsher penalties for employers of illegal workers

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Created on Monday, 06 August 2012 09:51

Written by Editorial staff

Newly-proposed changes immigration legislation will make the penalties for employers who hire illegal workers more severe.

The draft legislation, which was announced on August 3, will focus on stamping out third-party involvement in the employment of illegal migrants - these sham contracting arrangements are a deliberate circumvention of the law, and, according to immigration minister Chris Bowen, must be stopped.

Unlike the existing sanctions against employers who hire illegal workers, the consequences proposed in the Migration Amendment (Reform of Employer Sanctions) Bill 2012 will be issued on a tiered system that is likely to include a mix of fines and civil penalties.

"This legislation will provide a more effective system of penalties to stop employers wilfully doing the wrong thing, with graduated tiers of sanctions - infringement notices, civil penalties, fines and criminal sanctions," said Bowen.

"Illegal workers undermine the integrity of Australia's migration program, reduce work for Australians and expose vulnerable workers to exploitation," he added.

Another important feature of the new draft legislation is a series of measures designed to protect and support the employers who "seek to do the right thing" by verifying the visa status of non-residents before they are given work.

The legislation follows on from an independent review taken last year by legal expert Stephen Howells, which showed that the current system does not do enough to support the crackdown on illegal workers.

The so-called Howells Review, Bowen remarked in December 2011, "showed that more needed to be done to make the existing sanctions more effective in deterring these illegal work practices."

Bowen suggested last year that the legislation changes could also be supported by amendments to the Visa Entitlement Verification Online system, which is more commonly known as VEVO and allows employers to quickly and easily check the work rights of a prospective non-citizen employee online, using details provided by the individual.

Any new laws, he said, will be accompanied by a comprehensive education campaign designed to arm employers and labour suppliers with the knowledge they need to make wise choices.

Members of the public - including migration agents if they so choose - are invited to make enquiries and submissions on the exposure draft bill - a full copy is available to view on the Department of Immigration and Citizenship website.

Enquiries and submissions on the legislation will be accepted via email until August 21.