Fact Sheet 87 – Initiatives to Combat Illegal Work in Australia

Only Australian citizens, permanent residents of Australia and New Zealand citizens who have entered Australia on a valid passport are allowed to stay and work in Australia without restriction.

All foreign nationals who want to travel to and stay in Australia must obtain visas before arriving.

If foreign nationals wish to work in Australia, they must also obtain a visa that gives them the authority to work.
Example: People who come as tourists, or to visit family and friends, are not entitled to work in Australia.

Who are illegal workers?

Illegal workers are non-Australian citizens who are working in Australia without a visa, or who are in Australia lawfully but working in breach of their visa conditions.

Problems created by illegal workers

Illegal workers create a number of problems within the Australian community.
Example: They:

• deny Australian citizens and permanent residents the opportunity to obtain a job.
• place an additional burden on the taxpayer in terms of costs associated with locating and removing illegal workers, uncollected taxes and fraudulently claimed government benefits
• disadvantage employers who employ legal workers because they may not be able to compete with those who employ and under-pay illegal workers
• may be subject to exploitation and organised criminal activity
• may not meet the stringent health and character tests undertaken by holders of a visa with work entitlements.

Statistics

Each year the department locates a significant number of people who have been working illegally.

As at 30 June 2009, it was estimated that some 48 700 people were unlawfully in Australia.

Around 80 per cent of these people are of working age. In addition, some people who are lawfully in Australia are working in breach of their visa conditions.

In 2008–09, the department located 990 people working illegally. The top three industries in which illegal workers were located included:

• agriculture, forestry, and fishing (largely farming)
• accommodation, cafes and restaurants
• construction.

What happens to illegal workers?

People who work in Australia without immigration authority or who do not comply with the work condition attached to their visas, for example by working more hours than their visa allows are breaking Australian law.

The Department of Immigration and Citizenship takes seriously the issue of people working illegally or in breach of visa conditions. The department is committed to working with the community, employers, labour suppliers and industry to combat illegal work in Australia.

The department encourages visa holders to comply with their visa requirements. Action against those who seriously breach these requirements can lead to possible visa cancellation and removal from Australia.

While elements of illegal work are opportunistic in nature, there is growing evidence pointing to a high level of organisation involving:

• labour hire intermediaries
• migration agents
• offshore agents
• taxation evasion.

In response to this, the department is stepping up its efforts to respond to serious non-compliance within the agriculture sector in targeting the organisers of illegal labour hire rackets.

The department undertakes a broad range of activities to address illegal work. Employer awareness training sessions are conducted to educate employers, industry peak bodies and unions about immigration status checking with the aim of reducing the number of illegal workers. The department is continuing with the national employer awareness and fraud awareness campaign targeting the horticulture industry, amongst others, in cooperation with several Commonwealth agencies.

The department also works with the Australian Taxation Office, Centrelink, Australian Federal Police and state police authorities to locate and identify illegal workers.

Employing an illegal worker is a criminal offence

It is a criminal offence under the Migration Act 1958 to knowingly or recklessly allow an illegal worker to work or to refer an illegal worker for work.

These offences apply to employers, labour hire companies, employment agencies and anyone who allows illegal workers to work, or refers illegal workers for work.

Individuals convicted of these offences face fines of up to $13 200 and two years imprisonment while companies face fines of up to $66 000 per illegal worker.

Penalties are even higher where an illegal worker is being exploited through forced labour, sexual servitude or slavery.

It is also an offence under the Commonwealth Criminal Code 1995 for an employer or labour supplier to aid or abet foreign nationals working illegally in Australia.

Services to assist employers

The department provides a number of services to help employers and labour suppliers check a prospective employees' entitlement to work in Australia:

Visa Entitlement Verification Online (VEVO) service

VEVO is a web-based system that allows employers and labour suppliers to quickly and easily check the work entitlements of non-citizens they wish to employ. This service is free and is available to registered users 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

To register for VEVO visit the website.
See: Visa Entitlement Verification Online (VEVO) for Organisations

Employers' immigration hotline

This telephone service provides information about employing workers from overseas and general information about visa conditions. This service is free and operates from 8.30 am to 4.30 pm, Monday to Friday.
Telephone: 1800 040 070

Information material

Information material to assist employers and labour suppliers understand their obligations when employing non–Australian citizens.
See:
Do your employees have a valid visa to work in Australia? – Booklet (325KB PDF file)
Do your employees have a valid visa to work in Australia?– Poster (277KB PDF file)
Work entitlement checklist (184KB PDF file)

More information

Further information for employers, labour suppliers and recruitment companies is available on the department’s website.
See: Employers

Do you have information about suspected offences or fraud against Australia's immigration and citizenship laws (such as persons working illegally?)

The Immigration Dob-in Service is a service for people in the community who have information about people living or working illegally in Australia and suspected offences or fraud being committed against Australia’s immigration and citizenship programs.
See: Immigration Dob-in Service

Further information is available on the department's website.
See: www.immi.gov.au

The department also operates a national general enquiries line.
Telephone: 131 881
Hours of operation: Monday to Friday from 8.30 am to 4.30 pm. Recorded information is available outside these hours.

Fact Sheet 87. Produced by the National Communications Branch, Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Canberra.

Last reviewed 29 September 2010.

© Commonwealth of Australia 2007.