MEDIA RELEASE
096.10
Embargoed until 12.01am on 8 October 2010
New immigration booklet for workers launched in Sydney
A new information booklet launched this week in Sydney will assist workers from
overseas to know about their rights and help reduce the incidence of exploitation.
The booklet, produced by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC), is
unique in that it is the first time the department has produced a publication specifically
for workers.
Entitled Your rights and obligations – immigration facts for workers, the booklet covers
basic protections and entitlements, work rights, visa choices, employer obligations and
using a migration agent.
The department is presenting the booklet to union organisers today in western Sydney
and to a range of other organisations in the coming weeks.
A departmental spokesman said the booklet was targeted at educating both overseas
and Australian workers as well as employers and addressed some common
misconceptions on work sites.
“One misconception is foreign workers take Australian jobs because they are paid
less,” the spokesman said. “The booklet explains that sponsoring employers must not
give foreign workers less pay or provide poorer conditions than Australians doing the
same work at the same workplace.
“In developing the content for this booklet, the department has sought input from
unions. It will be distributed along with an associated promotional poster to work sites
and relevant agencies around Australia.”
Your rights and obligations includes contact details for the department, Unions
Australia, Fair Work Australia, the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority
(Office of the MARA) and the Translating and Interpreting Service.
A one-stop easy reference guide, it has been written in plain English and translated
into six other languages based on the main nationalities of vulnerable or illegal
workers in Australia.
The spokesman said the department would continue its dual strategy of targeted
compliance operations to identify illegal workers and their employers, as well as
educating employers and workers about rights and responsibilities for sponsored
foreign workers in Australia.
Media Enquiries: National Communications Branch 02 8862 6261
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