Do I need a lawyer or a migration agent?

Many visa applications are lodged directly. A registered migration agent or immigration lawyer helps with complex or refused matters.

What is a Section 48 bar?

It limits the visas you can apply for while unlawfully in Australia after a refusal or cancellation. A professional can map your options.

Can I appeal a refused visa?

Often yes — the Administrative Appeals Tribunal reviews many decisions, but strict time limits apply.

Can exploiting a migrant worker send an employer to jail in Australia in 2026?

Yes — Australia's Migration Act sets a five-year jail term and a $131,040 (360 penalty unit) fine ceiling for serious migrant worker exploitation.

Yes. Under the Migration Act 1958, employers and labour hire organisations can face criminal charges for exploiting temporary migrant workers, and the Department of Home Affairs' "Information for employers and labour hire organisations" page states that serious, deliberate or repeated breaches carry up to five years' jail and fines of up to $131,040 (360 penalty units), as at October 2026. The same maximum applies to breaching a prohibition on employing migrant workers: criminal prosecution, up to five years' imprisonment, a fine of up to $131,040 (360 penalty units), or both.

Jail is the ceiling for the worst cases, not the everyday outcome. Most enforcement starts lower down the scale, with notices, fines and bans. What follows sets out where the line sits, and what else can happen alongside a criminal charge.

What behaviour counts as exploiting a migrant worker?

The Department of Home Affairs lists a specific set of conduct as unlawful under the Migration Act. An employer breaks the law if they:

keep a migrant worker's passport
threaten to cancel a visa
threaten to report a worker to immigration authorities
pressure someone to work more hours than their visa allows
make threats about future visa applications
force migrant workers to live in unsafe, dirty or crowded housing as part of their job
sexually harass a migrant worker
underpay a migrant worker
ask a migrant worker to repay sponsorship, nomination or recruitment costs
ask a migrant worker for money in exchange for visa sponsorship

The common thread is the misuse of immigration status. Using someone's visa situation to pressure, threaten or take advantage of them at work is what brings the Migration Act into play, on top of any workplace law already breached.

What does "serious, deliberate or repeated" actually mean?

The official page sets the five-year and 360 penalty unit ceiling for that category of breach, but it does not publish a scoring system or a checklist that turns an ordinary mistake into a criminal one. Reading the legislation's structure alongside the departmental material, the distinction is between conduct that is careless or one-off and conduct that is intentional, sustained or severe.

The department's case studies page shows how the escalation works. Underpayment, allowing someone to work in breach of their visa conditions, and sexual harassment were each already unlawful before the exploitation offences were added. What the newer offences capture is the extra step of using a worker's visa status as leverage against them.

Suppose a café owner realises a student visa holder has passed the fortnightly work limit, keeps rostering them anyway, pays below the correct rate, and then tells the worker that any complaint will mean a report to immigration. The underpayment and the roster breach are already illegal. The threat is what adds criminal exposure under the Migration Act.

How do criminal penalties differ from sponsor sanctions and fines?

Two separate tracks run in parallel, and an employer can be caught by both. The sponsor sanctions track deals with failures to meet sponsorship obligations; the criminal track deals with exploitation itself.

Track	What it can involve	Source of the figures
Infringement notice	$79,200 for a body corporate or $15,840 for an individual, for each failure	Sponsor responsibilities page
Civil penalty imposed by a court	Up to $396,000 for a body corporate or $79,200 for an individual, for each failure	Sponsor responsibilities page
Other sponsor sanctions	Cancellation of sponsorship approval, being banned from sponsoring other workers, being banned from future applications for approval, a compliance notice, or an enforceable undertaking	Sponsor responsibilities page
Criminal prosecution for exploitation	Up to 5 years' jail and fines of up to $131,040 (360 penalty units) for serious, deliberate or repeated breaches	Information for employers and labour hire organisations page

More than one sanction can be imposed for the same failure, so a fine does not close the file. A sponsor who is penalised for exploiting migrant workers can also have their business name or personal name published on the Australian Border Force register of sanctioned sponsors.

Can an employer be banned from hiring migrant workers?

Yes. The prohibited employer scheme bans employers found guilty of serious breaches of the Migration Act from hiring more temporary migrant workers. Depending on the circumstances, the Minister for Immigration may designate an individual or a corporation as a prohibited employer, and the business name is published on the Australian Border Force website.

The length of the ban depends on the finding:

Finding	Maximum length of prohibition
Human trafficking and modern slavery	No maximum length
A criminal offence other than human trafficking or modern slavery	Up to 10 years
All other migrant worker sanctions	Up to 5 years

Existing staff are unaffected in one important respect. Temporary visa holders already working for the business at the time of the declaration may continue if they wish; the ban only stops the employer from hiring new temporary visa holders.

Breaching the prohibition is where the jail risk returns most sharply. Doing so can lead to criminal prosecution and up to five years' jail, a fine of up to $131,040 (360 penalty units), or both.

What happens before someone is declared a prohibited employer?

The process starts with a letter. If a declaration is being considered, the employer receives a letter inviting them to explain why they should not be declared a prohibited employer. The response is considered and a decision is made. The letter and accompanying material explain the timeframe for responding and any rights to seek review once a decision is made.

Does the worker's own visa status change anything?

No. It is illegal to exploit migrant workers even if they are doing paid or unpaid training, have broken their visa rules, or do not hold a valid Australian visa. A worker's own status does not give an employer licence to underpay, threaten or coerce them.

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 migration status. Pay, leave and discrimination protections apply whether or not someone holds a valid visa.

What if the workers come through a labour hire company?

Using a labour hire organisation does not transfer the obligation away. Employers must still know and follow the law, and ensure workers are treated fairly. Labour hire organisations themselves can face criminal charges and civil penalties under the Migration Act if they exploit temporary migrant workers.

Hiring decisions also carry their own rules. 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, or to pressure a non-citizen without a valid visa into working. Visa work conditions can be checked through VEVO, the free online checking system, with the visa holder's permission.

These figures and ceilings are the ones published on the official pages as at October 2026, and they can change; this article is general information only and is not advice about any individual matter, so rely on the current official pages or on advice from a qualified professional for your own circumstances.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can an employer go to jail just for underpaying a migrant worker?

Underpayment alone is primarily a workplace law matter dealt with under the Fair Work Act 2009. The criminal ceiling under the Migration Act applies to serious, deliberate or repeated breaches, and the department's material shows jail exposure rising where underpayment is combined with visa-related threats or pressure.

What is the maximum fine for exploiting a migrant worker in Australia in 2026?

The Department of Home Affairs states fines of up to $131,040, expressed as 360 penalty units, for serious, deliberate or repeated breaches of the Migration Act. That figure is the published ceiling, not a typical penalty.

Does breaching a prohibited employer ban carry a jail term?

Yes. Breaching a prohibition can lead to criminal prosecution and up to five years' jail, a fine of up to $131,040 (360 penalty units), or both. The ban itself only prevents new temporary visa holders from being hired.

Can a labour hire company be charged, or only the business using the workers?

Both can be. The Migration Act applies to employers and labour hire organisations alike, and using a labour hire intermediary does not release the host business from its own obligations to treat workers fairly.

Will the employer's name be made public?

Yes, in two different ways. A prohibited employer's business name is published on the Australian Border Force website, and a sponsor penalised for exploiting migrant workers can have their business name or personal name listed on the register of sanctioned sponsors.