New laws to stop work visa scams
On the 14th of December 2015 the Australian Government introduced new criminal legislation which allows the Immigration department to cancel work visas and to impose administrative sanctions on visa sponsors.
The new laws have been introduced to stop illegal payment for work visa scams which have attracted a lot of media attention. The illegal work visa scams usually involve one person asking for, receiving or offering some kind of benefit in return for receiving sponsorship or sponsored employment. These scams are often used by people who are trying to get Australian permanent residence fraudulently.
The Government is very strict on the rules surrounding all types of Australian visas, including work visas which require sponsorship. In media releases the Department of Immigration reinforces that illegal work scams involving ‘payment for visa’ are considered unacceptable by the Australian Government as they undermine the integrity of the skilled work programmes, which are designed to address genuine skill shortages in the Australian labour market by making employees available from outside Australia.