PART 9 - INDUSTRY DATA
Part 9 — INDUSTY DATA
Underpayment and Noncompliance Define Migrant Work in All Industries, but Some Carry Especially High Risk
Our survey asked participants to identify their lowest paid “job”, rather than industry. We calculated participants’ individual minimum entitlements based on the lowest level under the award for that job in that industry (e.g. the minimum wage for an aged care worker in the aged care sector rather than a cleaner in the aged care sector).lxviii
When we hold constant participants’ nationality, visa, year of arrival and other key factors, the industries in which migrants work appear to have the greatest influence on their risk of underpayment. This suggests substantial benefit to enforcement approaches tailored to industries in which noncompliance is most prevalent and most severe. Government should also take differential industry risk profiles into account when considering applications for employer sponsorship of skilled migrants in particular roles.
The industries migrants work in appears to have the greatest influence on their risk of underpayment
We note, however, that our data on numerous industries is based on a small number of participants and further industry-specific research is needed.
“I have worked in many different industries and it is almost same everywhere if one is on student visa or temporary visa. Sometimes they ask you to stay to do overtime and next week they don’t pay. Sometimes they don’t pay full superannuation. Sometimes they call for trial make you work whole shift and not pay. Sometimes they offer job to fresh graduates and when you are about to end your probation period, they try to make sexual advances like asking you to be personal assistant even you applied job as software engineer. I have faced all these problems. Too scared to go fair work in fear that if words get out no one will hire me in future.”
— Female from Nepal, 33, in NSWUnderpayment defines migrant work in all industries, but is especially prevalent and severe in some
Dollars per hour participants were underpaid in their lowest paid job in 2023-24, by job type (with ABN workers’ hourly income benchmarked to casual employee minimums) (n= 8,137)
In many industries, the average underpayment is between $8 and $12 for every hour they work
Average underpayment ($/hour) among underpaid participants (with ABN benchmarked against casual minimum wages), by industry (n=5,837)
“The low wage payment is mostly seen in restaurants or cleaning jobs. They pay in cash which is way lower than the minimum wage. The hours are not guaranteed and also they don't pay you more if you do weekends or late night.”
— Female international student from Nepal, 23, in South AustraliaReferences
[i] Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth) div 270-271.
[ii] Office of the Australian Anti-Slavery Commissioner, Recommendations to strengthen Australia's modern slavery laws (Initial position paper, 30 January 2026); Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Concluding Observations on the Sixth Periodic Report of Australia, UN Doc E/C.12/AUS/CO/6 (23 March 2026); Walk Free, 'Time for action as Australia considers mandatory due diligence on modern slavery' Walk Free (Article, 17 February 2026) https://www.walkfree.org/news/2026/time-for-action-as-australia-considers-mandatory-due-diligence-on-modern-slavery/.
[iii] Attorney-General's Department, Commonwealth Modern Slavery Act 2018 Guidance for Reporting Entities (Guidance, May 2023) 81-83.
[iv] International Labour Organisation, ILO Indicators of Forced Labour 2025 revised edition (18 November 2025); International Labour Organisation, ILO Indicators of Forced Labour (1 October 2012). See also ILO-IOE, Combating Forced Labour: A Handbook for Employers and Business (3rd ed, 2025).