If I have no valid visa, is my employer still breaking the law by exploiting me in 2026?
Yes — under Australian law, exploiting a worker who has no valid visa stays illegal, and extra criminal offences can apply to the employer.
Yes. Having no valid visa does not give an employer permission to underpay you, threaten you or exploit you — the exploitation stays unlawful, and in some situations the employer faces additional criminal charges because of your visa situation. According to the Australian Department of Home Affairs page Information for employers and labour hire organisations, as at the October 2026 official page: "It is illegal to exploit migrant workers, even if they … do not hold a valid Australian visa." The same page states that under the Migration Act 1958, employers and labour hire organisations can face criminal charges and/or civil penalties, including large fines, if they exploit temporary migrant workers.
The Department's published Case studies page, as at the July 2026 official page, sets out the same point in practical terms: a labour hire company that sends an unlawful worker to a job and underpays her "is already breaking the law by allowing [her] to work without a valid visa, and by underpaying her", and under the new offences "could face additional criminal charges."
Is exploitation still illegal if I have no valid visa?
It is. The Home Affairs material lists three situations where the answer does not change: the worker is doing paid or unpaid training, the worker has broken their visa rules, or the worker does not hold a valid Australian visa. In all three, exploitation remains illegal.
The reasoning is straightforward. The Migration Act provisions target the employer's conduct — underpaying, threatening, coercing, confiscating documents — not the worker's immigration paperwork. A worker's lack of a visa does not convert that conduct into something lawful.
Separately, under the Fair Work Act 2009, all visa holders and migrant workers have the same workplace rights and protections as other employees in Australia, regardless of their migration status. That covers pay and wages, leave and other entitlements, and discrimination.
What counts as exploitation when I have no valid visa?
The Home Affairs page lists the following as against the law for employers:
- Keeping a migrant worker's passport
- Threatening to cancel a visa
- Threatening to report a worker to immigration authorities
- Pressuring someone to work more hours than their visa allows
- Threatening future visa applications
- Forcing migrant workers to live in unsafe, dirty or crowded housing as part of their job
- Sexually harassing a migrant worker
- Underpaying a migrant worker
- Asking a migrant worker to repay sponsorship, nomination and/or recruitment costs
- Asking a migrant worker for money in exchange for visa sponsorship
The Department's case studies add that exploitation covers non-work matters arising in the workplace too, including being coerced into unwanted sexual acts, being threatened with visa cancellation, being pressured to surrender a passport, and being pushed to accept inadequate housing, meals or access to running water and electricity.
Can my employer use my visa status against me?
Using your immigration status to take advantage of you is itself the prohibited conduct — it is not a defence the employer can raise. The Home Affairs page states plainly that it is unlawful in Australia to use someone's immigration status to take advantage of them or to treat them badly at work.
Two of the Department's published case studies show how this works. In one, a worker whose tourist visa had expired complains about being paid less than her co-workers; the company tells her she should not have been working and threatens to report her if she keeps complaining. In another, a sponsored IT worker is told she will have no chance of a permanent visa nomination if she causes trouble over sexual harassment. In both, the threat is part of the offence rather than a shield against it.
Does my employer break the law just by hiring me?
Yes, on the employer's side. The Home Affairs page states it is against the law to hire a non-citizen who does not hold a valid visa, to hire a non-citizen to do work that goes against their visa conditions, and to pressure a non-citizen without a valid visa into working.
That is a separate problem from the exploitation. An employer can be breaking the law by putting you on the roster at all, and again by underpaying you or threatening you once you are there. Using a labour hire organisation does not free the host business from these obligations.
What penalties can the employer face?
Under the Migration Act, a business or individual who breaks the law can be directed to take certain action or stop doing something, be fined, or be banned from employing migrant workers for a defined time and declared a "prohibited employer". Other consequences include criminal prosecution and/or a civil penalty.
For serious, deliberate or repeated breaches, the penalties stated on the October 2026 official page are:
| Breach | Maximum penalty stated |
|---|---|
| Serious, deliberate or repeated breach of the Migration Act | Up to 5 years' jail; fines up to $131,040 (360 penalty units) |
| Breaching a prohibition | Up to 5 years' jail and/or a fine up to $131,040 (360 penalty units) |
Once designated a prohibited employer, a business cannot employ any new temporary visa holders, and its name is published on the Australian Border Force website. The length of the prohibition depends on the findings: no maximum for human trafficking and modern slavery, up to 10 years for another criminal offence, and up to 5 years for all other migrant worker sanctions. Where the employer is also a sponsor and is penalised for exploiting migrant workers, its business or personal name can be made public on the register of sanctioned sponsors.
If a business is declared a prohibited employer, temporary visa holders already working for it at the time of the declaration may continue working there if they wish; the ban applies to hiring new temporary visa holders.
Where do reports about exploitation go?
Two bodies handle different parts of this, according to the Home Affairs page. Pay and wages, leave and other entitlements, and discrimination are matters for the Fair Work Ombudsman. Taking migrants' passports, using a migrant's visa situation to threaten or force them to work, and forcing migrants to live in overcrowded and unsafe housing are matters for Border Watch.
The same page states that you do not need to give your name when you make a report.
This article is general information for readers in Australia and is not advice about your individual circumstances; the official pages named above, and a professional adviser, are where you can confirm how the rules apply to your own situation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does having no valid visa cancel my right to be paid properly?
No. Under the Fair Work Act 2009, all visa holders and migrant workers have the same workplace rights and protections as other employees in Australia regardless of migration status, and underpaying a migrant worker is separately listed as unlawful under the Migration Act framework.
Is it illegal for my employer to threaten to report me to immigration?
Yes. Threatening to report a worker to immigration authorities, threatening to cancel a visa, and threatening future visa applications are each listed as unlawful conduct for employers on the Home Affairs page.
What if I was doing unpaid training or a trial shift?
It makes no difference to the employer's liability. The Home Affairs page states it is illegal to exploit migrant workers even if they are doing paid or unpaid training.
Can a report be made without giving my name?
Yes. The Home Affairs page states that you do not need to give your name when you make a report about workplace exploitation.
What is the maximum penalty my employer could face?
For serious, deliberate or repeated breaches of the Migration Act, the official page as at October 2026 states up to 5 years' jail and fines of up to $131,040 (360 penalty units), with a prohibited employer declaration also possible.
Does reporting my employer fix my own visa situation?
No. Reporting concerns the employer's conduct and the penalties they may face; nothing in the official material states that making a report changes a worker's own immigration status or resolves an overstay.