17 September 2020 ABC News
The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) is investigating the case of a backpacker who says she was paid as little as $2.50 an hour and offered incentives to recruit Asian workers while fruit picking in Queensland.
Earlier this week, the ABC revealed the regulator overseeing workplace compliance was failing to stop the exploitation of backpackers working under the Federal Government’s visa scheme.
Senator Ciccone told ABC the FWO’s focus on education over enforcement was “wholly inadequate”.
“It is clear from today’s evidence the ombudsman is not resourced well enough to conduct the level of enforcement required to protect vulnerable workers,” he said.
“Despite this knowledge of exploitation, there still remains a high level of temporary migrants [being exploited].”
