Australia’s embassies warn on agriculture visa scams

Labour-hire companies in Australia have seized on the announcement of the newly announced agriculture visa scheme

Labour-hire companies in Australia have seized on the announcement of the newly announced agriculture visa scheme. Picture: Paul Beutel

Australia’s embassies in Southeast Asia are sounding the alarm on immigration scams under the guise of the newly announced agriculture visa, as the federal government races to strike bilateral agreements under the program to reap crops amid a bumper harvest season.

The agriculture visa scheme – unveiled by the government in August – will allow farmers to source foreign workers from Southeast Asian nations and Britain to help fill critical labour gaps exacerbated by the pandemic.

While regulation is now in force for the visa scheme, no bilateral deals have been struck with foreign countries.

Despite the federal government claiming it has a “zero tolerance” approach to worker exploitation, the embassy warnings show the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is concerned about dodgy immigration operators seizing on the visa announcement.

In the past six weeks, Australia’s embassies in Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia have issued public warnings on their social media pages advising locals to steer clear of “illegal operators” offering to facilitate entry into Australia under the new visa program, which is not operational.

In October, the Australian embassy in Thailand posted a message urging caution about “advertisements from organisations and individuals falsely claiming to be able to facilitate visas”.

CẢNH BÁO: HÃY THẬN TRỌNG VỚI LỪA ĐẢO THỊ THỰC/ WARNING: BEWARE OF VISA SCAMS [ENGLISH BELOW] Đại sứ quán Australia tại...

Posted by Australian Embassy, Vietnam on Thursday, October 28, 2021

In September, the Australian embassy in Cambodia posted a warning on its Facebook page urging people to “beware of false promises and treat with suspicion any company claiming to be able to arrange an agricultural visa for Australia”.

Former Department of Immigration deputy secretary Abul Rizvi said the embassies’ posts were likely referring to Australian-based labour-hire companies or offshore migration agents who were often used to bring over foreign workers under the Pacific Labour Scheme and Seasonal Workers Program.

“These are entrepreneurial people trying to get ahead of the game,” he said.

Mr Rizvi said individuals or ­organisations would be eyeing the substantial profits they could make from bringing over foreign workers and taking cuts from their wages. “What’s going on is not necessarily illegal, but the real question will be how many of these agents are linked to already approved labour-hire companies or ones that will seek approval.”

The specialist agriculture visa is designed to complement the streamlined Pacific Australian Labour Mobility program, which brings together the Pacific ­Labour Scheme and the Seasonal Workers Program.

The Australian revealed last week that the already stalled ­Seasonal Workers Program was under challenge from a proposed class action by Pacific Island workers against labour hire companies accused of exploitation and massive wage theft.

The action threatens to further disrupt a record $73bn harvest this financial year.

At least 1200 Pacific Island workers have also absconded from their employers, triggering the federal government to launch an aggressive campaign warning islanders that their families and villages may be penalised in ­retaliation.

The new visa scheme will be extended beyond horticulture to provide extra workers for meat processing, fisheries and forestry sectors.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade did not respond to questions.