Online tool for migrant workers launched

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Created on Thursday, 23 May 2013 15:48

Written by Editorial staff

The government has today released an online tool that will help skilled workers who travel to Australia on 457 immigration visas to understand their workplace obligations and rights.

The "online tool" is a video, which has been produced in English with Mandarin, Korean, Indonesian, Malay, Tagalog and Hindi subtitles.

Maintaining his view "that some employers are not using 457 visas the way they were intended", Brendan O'Connor (minister for immigration and citizenship) heralded the launch of this video yesterday (May 22).

"Employers of 457 visa holders are required to adhere to a number of sponsorship obligations,
including providing overseas workers with the same pay and conditions of employment as Australians who perform equivalent work in the business," he said.

He believes this video will "help to mitigate the exploitation of overseas workers in Australia by ensuring access to clear information on their rights and obligations in their primary language".

Mr O'Connor's estimates concerning the number of employers abusing the 457 visa program have recently been disputed by Michael Easson, who told The Australian there wasn't any "credible evidence" that up to ten per cent of visa applicants "are associated with rorts".

This, however, does not negate the positive impact such a tool could have on the relationships between migrant workers and their Australian employers.