Surge in Pacific seasonal workers claiming asylum sparks exploitation fears

Immigration experts say the rising number of illegitimate asylum seekers will drag farming sector wages down and lead to more exploitation.

Immigration experts say the rising number of illegitimate asylum seekers in Australia will drag wages down in the farming sector and lead to more exploitation.

A growing number of Pacific Island nationals are applying for asylum claims in Australia during the pandemic, sparking fears of a “race to the bottom” for illegal migrant workers who are more vulnerable to exploitation.

Since the pandemic began, there has been a spike in Pacific Islanders – most of whom are in Australia as part of a temporary regional workers scheme – unsuccessfully applying for onshore protection visas to extend their time with legal work rights. Immigration experts say the rising number of illegitimate asylum seekers in Australia will drag wages down in the farming sector and lead to more exploitation. The warning comes as the federal government prepares to finalise bilateral agreements for a newly created agriculture visa to help tackle labour shortages in the industry.

The number of onshore protection visa claims has fallen since Australia’s internal border shut in March last year due to the pandemic. But Department of Home Affairs data revealed that during the 2019-2020 financial year, 335 applications were lodged by Tonga nationals, with the number rising to 400 during 2020-2021 period. For East Timor, the number rose from 88 to 278 in the same time period and for Vanuatu citizens, it increased from 0 applications in 2019-20 to 190 in 2020-21. None of these applications were granted a final protection visa.

Former Department of Immigration deputy secretary Abul Rizvi said Pacific Islanders were likely in Australia under the Pacific Labour Scheme and had applied for asylum to give them an extra three to four years of legal work rights while their applications were processed. He said migration agents, labour hire companies or farmers could be encouraging the applications and warned that those who had their asylum claims rejected were ripe for accepting illegal pay and exploitative work conditions.

“The moment an unscrupulous employer finds out they are unlawful they are less likely to employ them, unless they’re prepared to do so at a much lower rate,” he said.

“It’s the trade off between taking the risk and getting labour at a cheaper rate because they know the person is desperate for a job and can’t survive without a job.”

Additionally, there is a growing number of illegitimate asylum seekers in Australia waiting to be deported because they were not granted a protection visa. The latest data from August shows more than 61,000 people not determined to be genuine refugees were waiting to be deported, up from 52,032 in the same month last year.

Mr Rizvi said the new agriculture visa could create a “race to the bottom” for wages of farm workers.

“It will result in a three-way competition with the asylum seekers, who are the most vulnerable, tending to drag wages down across the board for farm work,” he said.

Labor’s immigration spokesman Kristina Keneally said the number of onshore asylum claims and growing list of deportations was alarming.

“The number of onshore asylum claims represents a work scam run by people smugglers, pure and simple,” she said.

A Home Affairs spokesperson said the government had a “zero tolerance” of exploitation of workers, regardless of their visa status or citizenship.