Good News: Australia’s New Visa to Support Migrant Workers | Australia Immigration News
The new Workplace Justice Pilot allows temporary migrants to stay in Australia for up to 12 months to pursue workplace exploitation claims, providing critical support for victims of wage theft, harassment, and visa threats.
Migrants will now be allowed to stay in Australia to pursue workplace exploitation claims under the new Workplace Justice Pilot program, which will run for two years. This initiative supports temporary migrants who allege exploitation by their employers, allowing them to remain in Australia for up to 12 months while seeking justice.
The Temporary Activity visa (subclass 408) was introduced as part of this pilot. It permits temporary migrants to stay in Australia for six months if their presence is beneficial to their claim, or up to 12 months if it is necessary for pursuing the exploitation claim and is in the public interest.
Family members of the workers can also be included in their visa application if they are in Australia. To be eligible for the visa, applicants must hold a temporary substantive visa with work rights and have no more than 28 days remaining on their visa.
Those who have held a temporary substantive visa with work rights that ended within 28 days of lodging the application are also eligible.
Applicants must provide certification of their claimed workplace exploitation and explain why staying in Australia is beneficial or necessary for their claim. Examples of workplace exploitation include underpayment of wages, pressure to work more hours than allowed by visa conditions, threats of visa cancellation by employers, bullying, harassment, or pressure to surrender passports to employers.
Applications must be lodged from within Australia, and applicants must meet health and character requirements. This new visa was implemented to address issues of workplace exploitation among temporary migrants.
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