Key features of the Act include:

• Making it a criminal offense to coerce or pressure temporary migrant workers into breaching their visa work conditions. This carries penalties of up to 2 years imprisonment or 360 penalty units (currently $112,680), or both.
  
  
• Allowing the government to prohibit employers convicted of exploiting migrant workers from sponsoring additional workers for a set period of time.
  
  
• Publishing the names of prohibited employers on the Department of Home Affairs website, significantly increasing the risk of reputational damage as a deterrent.
  
  
• Giving immigration officials stronger powers to issue enforceable undertakings and compliance notices to employers for work-related breaches.
  
  
• Repealing a provision that made it an offense for migrant workers to breach their work conditions. This is aimed at encouraging workers to come forward and report exploitation.

• Ensure you are meeting all sponsorship obligations if employing migrant workers, including paying market salary rates and providing equivalent terms and conditions as local workers.
  
  
• Maintain vigilant record-keeping and processes to ensure and show compliance. This includes conducting comprehensive work rights checks at the recruitment stage via VEVO, the Department’s online visa verification system. However, while a VEVO check is important at recruitment, it cannot cover the full range of potential visa compliance issues that may arise. We recommend employers engage immigration professionals like Abacus Visa to:
  • Conduct a thorough work rights check report to identify and mitigate any risks; and
  • Ensure full compliance throughout the entire sponsorship lifecycle. For example, at the exit stage when a sponsored employee leaves, employers must notify the Department of 482 and other employer-sponsored visa holders as part of their obligations. Failure to properly notify at recruitment and exit stages are two of the most overlooked yet costly compliance gaps that can expose employers to penalties.
    
    
• Do not take any actions that could be perceived as coercing or pressuring migrant workers to breach their visa conditions. This could include:
  • Threatening to have a worker's visa cancelled or their immigration status jeopardised if they don't accept substandard pay or work hours that breach their conditions.
  • Withholding wages or entitlements unless the worker agrees to work extra unpaid hours in breach of allowed hours.
  • Misrepresenting to workers that certain unlawful arrangements are acceptable under visa rules when they are not.
    
    
• If non-compliance is found, take swift action to remediate issues and demonstrate a commitment to compliance.

The Act implements key recommendations from the Rapid Review into the Exploitation of Australia’s Visa System (the Nixon Review). The review found evidence of some employers exploiting temporary migrant workers through underpayment, coercion, and threats. The changes aim to stamp out such exploitation by increasing penalties and powers to investigate non-compliant employers

• Avoid costly missteps: The new Strengthening Employer Compliance Act has raised the standard of scrutiny for businesses sponsoring migrant workers. With higher penalties for breaches and the threat of being banned from hiring visa holders, getting sponsorship compliance right is more critical than ever. At Abacus Visa, we understand the complexities of maintaining full visa compliance throughout the sponsorship journey. Our premium work rights check service provides a comprehensive, professional assessment to ensure you avoid risking sanctions. We identify specific visa conditions, monitor changes, and flag any areas of risk so you can verify a candidate's ongoing work rights with confidence.
  
  
• Stay ahead of the evolving regulatory landscape: As an Abacus Visa client, we protect you throughout the entire sponsorship journey by proactively adapting our services to keep you ahead of any emerging regulations. You can focus on running your core business operations, confident that your visa sponsorship framework satisfies the latest rules.