NSW inquiry finds evidence of modern slavery among temporary migrant workers

The NSW parliament has released the final report of its inquiry into the modern slavery risks that temporary migrant workers in the state are facing. Its findings make clear that there is modern slavery in Australia.

Blueberry farms in Coffs Harbour and the Nambucca Valley attracted particular focus. In a submission based on confidential evidence, the state’s Anti-Slavery Commissioner Dr James Cockayne said the actions of some labour hire firms in the region “exhibited significant indicators of modern slavery, including forced labour, debt bondage, deceptive recruiting, and possibly trafficking in persons, servitude and sexual servitude”. A recent episode of Four Corners included the first-hand account of a working “holidaymaker” who says they were subjected to modern slavery while picking blueberries in Coffs Harbour.

An estimated 30 per cent of Australia’s temporary migrants are in NSW. In addition to people on working holiday visas, the inquiry also focused on the approximately 6,000 people in NSW as part of the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme.

The PALM scheme allows people from nine Pacific Island nations and Timor-Leste to work in Australia for between nine months and four years. But they can only work in jobs classified as low, semi, or unskilled. Their visa is sponsored by a single “approved” employer, which means that their status in Australia depends on staying in the one job.

Under the PALM scheme, people from very different backgrounds come to work in Australia, predominantly on fruit and vegetable farms and abattoirs, for a single employer who often also supplies their accommodation. As the committee put it, this dependence on a single employer “creates clear ‘exploitable power differentials’ between employer and employee that disincentivise migrant workers from reporting abuse and exploitation.”

The inquiry’s very first recommendation is “that the NSW Government advocate to the Australian Government to amend relevant visa settings to allow PALM workers to more easily change employers.” Australia Institute polling shows that the majority of Australians would support such a change. Specifically, the poll found that:

• Almost seven in ten (68%) Australians either support or strongly support PALM visa holders having the right to change employer without permission if they are paid less money than they are owed.
• Nearly four in five Australians (78%) either support or strongly support PALM visa holders having the right to change employer if they are not provided with enough working hours to earn a reasonable income.
• Four in five (81%) Australians either support or strongly support PALM visa holders having the right to change employer when there is a problem with the accommodation provided to them by their employer.

These are the kinds of problems PALM visa holders face, as documented in report after report after report. When this kind of thing happens, some people disengage from the program and walk away from their employer. The committee heard that the NSW Riverina alone is now home to approximately 1000 of these former PALM scheme workers, who live on the margins of society; they are especially vulnerable to exploitation.

The inquiry heard from community organisations that have called for an amnesty for disengaged former PALM visa holders, and the committee agreed. It has recommended “that the NSW Government advocate to the Australian Government to grant amnesty to all disengaged PALM workers and provide these workers with the option to either rejoin the PALM scheme or be voluntarily repatriated”.

The inquiry also heard how inadequate access to medical care is affecting the physical and mental health of temporary migrants. As it stands, PALM visa holders are not eligible for Medicare and are instead made to rely on private health insurance. Most are on basic policies, which means they often don’t have enough coverage for the care they need. This is a particular problem for women who fall pregnant while working in Australia. The inquiry even heard of cases in which people were too afraid to seek medical treatment because they feared that it might affect their visa, and recommended the NSW Government “advocating to the Australian Government to expand Medicare eligibility to temporary migrant workers, as a matter of priority.” The recent polling also shows that two in three Australians (66%) support or strongly support PALM visa holders having access to Medicare while they are working in Australia.

The phrase, “that the NSW Government advocate to the Australian Government…” is used in 13 of the inquiry’s 31 recommendations, which makes it clear that it is the Commonwealth Government that really has the responsibility, and the power, to ensure all workers are treated with respect and dignity. The PALM visa scheme and the Working Holiday Maker visa are national programs and, without change, the land of the fair go will continue to be a land in which temporary migrants are put at risk of becoming modern slaves.