The Workplace Justice Visa enables migrant workers to stay in Australia for a short period to enforce their workplace rights without the fear of losing your visa or being sent home.
What is the Workplace Justice Visa?
This new visa lets migrant workers stay in Australia for a short time to pursue claims related to workplace exploitation or unjust treatment.
If you are a temporary visa holder such as an international student, working on a temporary visa, or a migrant worker, the visa will allow you to claim unpaid wages, address unsafe working conditions, or seek remedy for unfair practices without the fear of your visa being canceled.
How Can This Help Me?
For many migrant workers, facing exploitation can feel like an impossible situation.
- You may be Underpaid or denied your rightful wages
- Forced to work long hours in unsafe conditions
- Subjected to harassment, discrimination, or mistreatment at work
Pursuing your rights could mean losing your visa and being sent back to your home country.
The new visa reforms make it safer for you to pursue your rights and hold employers accountable.
You won’t have to choose between your livelihood and seeking justice.
Every day we speak to migrant workers who have been targeted for exploitation by their employers.
Some have been forced to work very long hours for below minimum wage, others have faced sexual harassment at work.
These changes give us real hope that exploited migrant workers can achieve justice.
How Does It Work?
To access this important protection, you’ll need to show that your workplace claim is strong enough to move forward.
You’ll need an employment lawyer to certify your claim before you can apply for the visa.
Redfern Legal Centre might be able to help. We can review your case for issues like:
- Underpaid wages
- Bullying or discrimination at work
- Unlawful dismissal
- Sexual harassment
The new visa protections could offer a lifeline to workers like Fang,* who reached out to RLC for help after learning that she was being paid well below minimum wage.
Fang came to Australia as a student, but after losing financial support from her family, she had to work extra hours to afford her living expenses. Unfortunately, her employer was paying her below minimum wage, and Fang was scared that if she spoke up, her visa might be canceled.
But with the new reforms, Fang would now be able to take action without the risk of visa cancellation.
If you believe you've been exploited or mistreated at work, you may be eligible for the Workplace Justice Visa.
RLC might be able to sign off on your claim for underpaid wages, dismissal, bullying, discrimination, or sexual harassment.
Please see the Factsheet and videos below for further information.
You can seek legal advice from our lawyers here.
Together we can assist migrant workers like Fang to address migrant worker exploitation to ensure the rights of all workers are protected equally.
