29-04-2025
Vulnerable worker left homeless after 'slave' complaint
When Mila* spoke up about working long hours for little pay, the migrant worker was sacked and kicked out of her only home.
The migrant worker was employed at a bed and breakfast, working more than 55 hours per week and paid only with a bed to sleep in and meals.
"She (initially) thought this was normal for new workers in Australia, as that is what her employer had explained to her," a legal service working on her behalf says.
"We estimate her underpayment to be well over $100,000."
In its submission to a modern slavery inquiry due to begin on Wednesday, Employment Rights Legal Service says Mila was dismissed and lost her accommodation when she queried her lack of payment.
The story of Mila, a pseudonym, is far from isolated, worker advocates have told the NSW parliamentary inquiry.
Modern slavery complaints to federal police have risen 140 per cent since 2018.
The term describes someone being forced or coerced into poor conditions for the benefit of another person or company.
Australian victims - estimated to number in the thousands - are financially deceived, sexually harassed and have no way to find help, advocate groups and legal services say.
These complaints resulted in the inquiry being set up to uncover the risks faced by migrant workers in regional and rural parts of Australia's most populous state.
The more-than-30,000 migrants filling vacancies in agriculture, aged care and other industries as part of the Pacific Australian Labour Mobility scheme will be at the centre of the inquiry.
The inquiry will also hear stories from international students and people with working holiday visas.
Redfern Legal Centre said one migrant worker it represented was trafficked to Australia on the promise of higher education.
While enrolled in university, the migrant was prevented from attending university once in the country.
"Instead of attending university, our client was forced to work a minimum of 84 hours per week and repay a purported debt of $50,000, allegedly related to study costs and associated fees," the service said in its submission.
Australia's inaugural anti-slavery commissioner says a national action plan to combat modern slavery has increased pathways for victim-survivors since its creation in 2020.
But Chris Evans said the detection of slavery-related crimes against migrant workers and international students was falling behind.
