How Australia’s visa system harms migrants facing exploitation

Modern slavery is back in the spotlight, after fresh media reports of migrants allegedly being brought to Australia as students but being forced to work long hours under harsh conditions with minimal pay.

In Australia, more than half of modern slavery survivors are migrants.

Across our research on modern slavery, survivors (and the caseworkers and service providers who support them) consistently say issues with Australia’s visa system prevent people from getting the help they need.

In other words, the current design of the system helps replicate and reproduce the shameful inequalities at the heart of modern slavery in Australia.

An unscrupulous employer engineered a path to this country for this young hopeful Chinese man, then put him to work for a pittance. When Qi complained about his conditions, his boss confiscated his passport. https://t.co/4UESZPWJIV— The Age (@theage) July 22, 2023

The system increases risk of exploitation

Australia’s temporary visa system promotes insecurity for migrants that can cause or contribute to exploitation.

For example, perpetrators can use a person’s insecure visa status to coerce victims to work for low pay or put up with poor conditions.

One survivor told us: “You need to have a visa to be in Australia, so you are going to do whatever is required.”

In response to years of advocacy from migrant-led organisations, researchers and human rights experts, the Albanese...

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