Prohibited Employer Register
Starting from 1 July 2024, this register will provide information about employers, sponsors and third parties who have seriously, deliberately or repeatedly broken the law, and have been prohibited from employing additional migrant workers for a period of time.
This prohibition is a protective measure to safeguard temporary migrants from workplace exploitation. The prohibition targets serious, deliberate or repeated non-compliance that represents the exploitation of temporary migrant workers. It also seeks to deter those who are considering exploiting temporary migrant workers.
The new laws cover a range of workplace exploitation matters, including, but not limited to:
- underpayment
- sexual harassment
- pressuring or coercing a temporary migrant to breach a visa condition
- pressuring them to hand over their passport.
Prohibited employers will have their name and ABN published on the prohibited employer register. After the prohibition ends, they can hire additional temporary migrants again but must comply with special reporting requirements.
There is no maximum timeframe applied for an offence relating to human trafficking and modern slavery. Where the migrant worker sanction involves a criminal offence, the prohibition may be in effect for up to 10 years (other than those offences relating to human trafficking and modern slavery). For all other migrant worker sanctions, the duration is up to 5 years.
It is a criminal offence to breach a prohibition declaration.
If you suspect an employer has seriously, deliberately or repeatedly exploited temporary migrant workers, you can report it anonymously to Border Watch.
For information on Australian workplace entitlements, go to Fair Work Ombudsman.
To the extent that the information contained on this webpage is personal information Australian Privacy Principle 6.2(b) permits the Australian Border Force to disclose the personal information of an individual where a law requires us to do so. The information published on this page is published pursuant to, and in conformity with, the mandatory publication requirements as set out in subsection 245AYM of the Migration Act 1958.
See our Disclaimer and Privacy information.
