Arabic version: تقارير: استخدام أرقام الأعمال الأسترالية لدفع أجور أدنى للعمال المهاجرين

According to ABC News, researchers say some employers are increasingly asking migrant workers to obtain Australian Business Numbers (ABNs) to avoid paying employment entitlements under the Fair Work Act. An ABN is a unique 11-digit number that identifies a business. Associate Professor Bassina Farbenblum said the approach can leave workers without a record as employees and prevent their pay from being compared with legal entitlements.

The issue affects temporary visa holders, including international students. Mai, an Australian National University student who used a pseudonym to protect her identity, said she was underpaid at a Canberra hospitality business. She said her employer called her at short notice, paid her a flat rate below the minimum wage, including on weekends, and rounded down recorded working hours. Mai said she was afraid to speak up and concerned about worrying her parents.

Associate Professor Farbenblum, founder of the Migrant Justice Institute, co-authored a major study commissioned by the Commonwealth attorney-general’s department. The study heard from close to 10,000 migrant workers in Australia and found international students alone may be short-changed by about $3.18 billion a year. She said workers experiencing greater underpayment were more likely to report passport confiscation, long hours without breaks, threats of harm or violence, and threats of being reported to immigration.

Cash payments remain part of the problem, with one in four workers receiving at least some wages in cash, Professor Farbenblum said. But she said ABN use is increasing. The Department of Home Affairs introduced a temporary visa in 2024 allowing people to remain in Australia for up to 12 months to pursue workplace exploitation claims after a previous visa expires. Its Strengthening Reporting Protections Pilot also says visas will not be cancelled for certain work-condition breaches linked to reported exploitation. Concerns remain that few temporary visa holders report exploitation, and the department had not responded to ABC questions about uptake.