Visa compliance operation detains 14 in NSW

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Created on Tuesday, 06 December 2011 17:47

Written by Editorial staff

Officers from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) were involved in operations in the Hunter and north coast regions of New South Wales that saw a number of local businesses investigated.

The communities of Port Macquarie, Woolgoolga, Taree, Forster, Narara, Eraring, Gosford, East Maitland, Macquarie Hills, Kotara and Hamilton were all visited by the inspection team.

As a result of these activities, 14 individuals have since been detained for working in breach of their visa conditions.

Of those, 12 were found to be employed illegally by restaurants, while a further two were at a car washing enterprise.

Five of the individuals have since been granted bridging visas by the DIAC, while the remaining workers are likely to be removed from the country.

Speaking on the investigations, a departmental spokesman took the opportunity to remind business owners of their obligation to ensure that they were hiring workers in compliance with official regulations.

"Illegal workers in Australia will not be tolerated and the department actively investigates any reports from the community and takes swift action," said the spokesman.

"It is the responsibility of employers to ensure that any non-Australian workers they hire hold a visa with valid work rights."

To this end the DIAC has information on related topics available through a range of outlets - including detailed pamphlets and online documents.

The Visa Entitlement Verification Online service can give employers the opportunity to ensure that they are hiring workers on the correct conditions.

Face to face consultation is also available - with departmental outreach officers making regular trips to regional areas just for this purpose.

Unfortunately, the timing of these trips may not coincide with a firm's hiring needs - meaning that they may miss out on the opportunity for a consultation.

However, a registered migration agent is able to provide business owners and managers with tailored advice on a range of subjects related to the legal hiring of international workers.

These experienced professionals are qualified to give advice that can help speed up the application process by ensuring that the required documentation is accurate and correct before it is supplied to the DIAC.

In turn this could help employers save both time and money - as submissions can take some time to be approved, as well as requiring fees which are non-refundable in a majority of cases.