Life in Australia Guide

This is the most common worry. Your right to work in Australia (minimum wage, entitlements, leave, safety) applies the same regardless of your visa type. You receive the same protection even if you work on a working holiday, student, or temporary visa. 'Because you're on a temporary visa' or 'because your English is poor' is no legal basis for cutting your pay or taking your rights away. When an employer says 'if you report, only your visa gets cancelled', that is a common threat used to stop you reporting.

The Australian government has run schemes to protect visa holders who report exploitation. The scheme formerly known as the 'Assurance Protocol' has been paused to run two pilots (the Strengthening Reporting Protections Pilot and the Workplace Justice Visa Pilot), and the scope, conditions, and currently active programs of these protections can keep changing. So do not assume that 'reporting always keeps your visa safe'; check the current scheme and conditions that apply to your situation directly on the Fair Work Ombudsman's visa protection page and the Department of Home Affairs official guidance. If you are anxious, it is best to ask first — even through an interpreter (131 450).

• ① Records of work hours — keep your own notes/calendar/photos of the dates you worked and your start and finish times (you can use the Fair Work Ombudsman's 'Record My Hours' app)
• ② Secure your payslips — Australian employers are generally required to provide a payslip within 1 business day of paying wages. Keep every payslip you receive. A cash-in-hand job that gives no payslip is itself a warning sign.
• ③ Wage payment records — bank account deposit records. If you were paid in cash, note the amounts and dates. Even for cash payment, the minimum wage, tax, and superannuation (Super) obligations can still apply the same way.
• ④ Employment-related documents — employment contract, roster, and work-instruction conversations such as texts, emails, and messenger chats
• ⑤ Employer details — business name, ABN, address, and the names and contacts of managers or colleagues who could be witnesses

If you want to know the exact amount you should receive (minimum wage / Award rate), check the 'Salary Guide' and the Fair Work Ombudsman's Pay Calculator (P.A.C.T.) together.

The responsible agency differs depending on the type of problem.

• Unpaid or underpaid wages, entitlements, leave, no payslip, breaches of working conditions → Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO), phone 13 13 94. It supports anonymous reporting and interpreting.
• Unfair dismissal → Fair Work Commission (FWC). The lodgement deadline is very short and strict (21 days from the day after the dismissal takes effect — see below).
• Retaliation or discrimination for exercising your rights (general protections) → Fair Work Commission (FWC). (Where dismissal is involved, the 21-day deadline applies; otherwise the deadline may differ, so check with FWC.)
• Workplace safety / industrial injury → the SafeWork agency of the state where the workplace is located (e.g. NSW = SafeWork NSW 13 10 50, VIC = WorkSafe Victoria, etc. — agencies and numbers differ by state).
• Discrimination / harassment (race, sex, age, disability, country of origin, etc.) → Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) 1300 656 419, or a state-based anti-discrimination body.

If you are not sure where to go, you can contact FWO (13 13 94) first. (You can use an interpreter on calls to any of these agencies — see 'Report in your own language' below.)

Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO): the federal agency dealing with unpaid or underpaid wages, entitlements, leave, and breaches of working conditions. When you have not received wages or entitlements you are owed, or are paid below the minimum standard, you can enquire or report by phone on 13 13 94 or at fairwork.gov.au. If you do not want to identify yourself, you can use the Anonymous Report tool.