Got A Temporary or Permanent Work Visa for Australia? Know Your Work Rights!

Every year, a large number of people from all corners of the world flock to Australia to study and build their careers. The country has always been popular for its dynamic cities, high employment rate and magnificent landscape beauty.

Australia’s economy has also been strong consistently, which leads to a great demand for skilled migrants. In fact, the country offers some great visa options that allows living and working on a temporary and permanent basis.

The temporary visa options include Temporary Graduate Visa (subclass 457) Work Visa and Working Holiday Visa (subclass 417) while the permanent visa options include Regional Sponsored Migration Stream Visa (subclass 187) and Skilled Independent Visa (subclass 189), Skilled Nominated Visa (subclass 190), Skilled Regional (Provisional) Visa (Subclass 489) under the General Skilled Migration Program.

Are you also a migrant moving to work in Australia under any of the above mentioned visas?

While you must be happy as a clam to work in the land down under, it is of utmost importance to be aware of the basic rights and entitlements before you reach there. Understanding the workplace rights will help you protect your opportunities and avoid denial of promotion or training for prejudicial reasons.

So, let’s get started with knowing the Workplace Rights for All Australian Visa Holders!

Under Australian law, all workers including migrants have rights and protections against exploitation or ill treatment at work. This includes: 

• Pay scale and workplace conditions will only be followed by the Australian law.

• The PACT (Pay and Conditions Tool) calculates the basic pay rates & shifts, leave arrangements, notice and dismissal entitlements. You can visit the website here.
• You are allowed to take help of the Translating and Interpreting Service in case you feel the need of a translator or interpreter.
• Any employer operating in Australia cannot hold the rights to cancel your visa, only the Department of Home Affairs can grant, refuse or cancel your visa. If you are under examination for visa cancellation, you can provide your justification to why your visa should not be refused.
• The Fair Work Ombudsman takes care of the workplace complaints and enforces compliance with national workplace laws. It is an independent statutory agency of the Government of Australia offering free support on the Australian national workplace relations system

While understanding basic rights is crucial, migrants working in Australia are also expected to meet the employment law to ensure a safe and healthy environment at work. 

In our next post, we’ll discuss about the migrants’ responsibilities and obligations at work and how to meet them.

Stay Tuned!