National migrant worker scheme uncovers 'shocking' exploitation in first year of operation
March 31 2026
ABC News
Viviana is among hundreds of people picked up by a national program aimed at protecting migrant workers from exploitation.
In short:
A national program protecting the rights of migrant workers has uncovered millions in unpaid wages, threats of visa cancellation and modern slavery.
In NSW, $1.35 million in potential unpaid wage claims have been identified, while in Victoria, $236,000 has been recovered for migrant workers.
What's next?
Unions NSW said the program set up by Home Affairs is at risk of being cut in the federal budget.
Migrant worker Viviana thought she had no choice but to work for a woman who refused to pay her, until a Facebook post helped her realise she was being exploited.
The Colombian national and qualified clinical psychologist came to Australia for what she thought would be better work opportunities as a support worker with the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
But for months, Viviana, who requested her full name be withheld for privacy reasons, was harassed with phone calls in the middle of the night by her employer, sometimes at 1 or 2am.
"If I didn't answer, she was very rude, very aggressive," she said.
When she raised her treatment with her employer, Viviana said the woman threatened her with visa cancellation.
viviana who is a colobian national living in sydney looks put over a balcony
Viviana came to Australia for better work opportunities. (ABC News)
She eventually asked for a single Sunday off work, and said she was let go, with her outstanding wages unpaid.
"[My employer] said, 'You are just an immigrant, you don't have rights here'," Viviana said.
"I didn't have support, I didn't know my rights and I didn't have money."
The 27-year-old was close to leaving Australia when she spotted a Unions NSW Facebook post about workers' rights, written in her native language of Spanish.
She has since been granted $40,000 in unpaid wages by the Local Court of NSW, which she is yet to receive.
Millions in unpaid wages, exploitation
Viviana is one of hundreds of migrant workers who have been picked up through an outreach program run by the federal government, which unions say is at risk of being cut in the May budget.
The Protecting Migrant Workers — Information and Education program has been operating nationally for 12 months, with unions across the country receiving the funding as grants to provide education and legal advice sessions in dozens of languages.
More than 16,400 visa holders have taken part in sessions in the last 12 months.
In Victoria, $236,000 has been recovered for migrant workers through individual case support.
a group of migrant workers sitting down on chairs in a hall during a workshop about migrant worker exploitation
More than 16,400 visa holders have taken part in sessions in the past year.
In Queensland, the program discovered 70 African migrants employed on a farm in Gatton, in south-east Queensland, who were not paid superannuation for years.
When the farm owners realised how much they owed, they "phoenixed" the company to avoid paying, Unions NSW said.
The first year of the $13.5 million scheme, run by the Home Affairs department, has uncovered millions in stolen wages, threats of visa cancellation and cases of "modern slavery" by Australian employers.
It has identified $1.35 million in potential unpaid wage claims in NSW alone, as well as cases of exploitation and workplace injury where employers have breached the law.
the back of people sitting down on chairs at a hall during a workshop for migrant workers run by unions nsw
In NSW, the program identified $1.35 million in potential unpaid wage claims.
In one of the most alarming cases, the union discovered a woman who had been trapped in "domestic servitude" to a prominent Sydney business owner for nearly seven years, without receiving paid leave or superannuation.
She was made to cook, clean and provide personal care seven days a week, and only able to leave the house with her employer's permission, the union said.
The woman was estimated to have been deprived of $500,000, which the union is now assisting her to recover.
But Unions NSW said its staff had been told to expect a "difficult budget cycle", with the program's funding and 40 dedicated staff at risk of being cut in a federal budget savings blitz.
Mark Morey says most Australians would be shocked by the level of exploitation taking place. (ABC News)
Unions NSW secretary Mark Morey said cases of mistreatment uncovered by the program would go unnoticed if funding was cut.
"It's a program that's actually on the ground, meeting with workers who are being exploited and then getting them out of those situations," he said.
"A level of exploitation, I think, most Australians would be really shocked is going on in this country."
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