Australia legal loophole robs migrants of thousands of dollars in unpaid wages

Legislation designed to protect the employees of companies which go bankrupt only extends to the country’s citizens and permanent residents

Which means that more than 900,000 of the most vulnerable workers are excluded, leaving them at significant risk of exploitation

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People look out over Sydney's skyline on a hazy day. Photo: AFP

Published: 7:00pm, 30 Sep 2019Updated: 12:29pm, 1 Oct 2019

Oppressed for his religious beliefs, and driven from his job, Fu Cong fled China for safety and a new life in Australia, seeking, in his words, “fairness and justice”. He found, instead, a prolonged but perfectly legal exploitation.

Having joined the banned Falun Gong spiritual group persecuted as “anti-government” by the ruling Communist Party, Cong lost his job as a teacher after nearly two decades of service. He made the “agonising” decision to leave his hometown in northeast China for a land, he had read, was fair and egalitarian.

“Moving to a foreign place on my own, and at my age is extremely difficult. I’ve lost count of the number of times my wife and I cried over the decision. It was incredibly painful,” he said. “If it wasn’t for the fact that I was completely out of options in China, I wouldn’t have taken such a huge risk.”

Cong arrived in Australia by plane, and lodged a protection claim as a refugee. While his claim was assessed by the Australian government, Cong was granted a bridging visa with work rights, and after initial difficulty finding employment, he found a job in a printing company in suburban Melbourne.

It was only when one of my colleagues called our boss, we were told that we no longer had jobs

Cong, Chinese immigrant to Australia

The work was difficult, and the hours long, but it was steady employment, and slowly, Cong built a life and a community in Australia. However, unbeknown to its employees, the printing company was trading while insolvent, and declared bankruptcy without warning in October last year.

Cong was left with nothing more than a string of dishonoured pay cheques. He is owed about A$5,000 (US$3,375) in unpaid wages and redundancy entitlements.