This report presents findings on the working conditions of almost 10,000 migrants on temporary visas in Australia from the 2024 National Temporary Migrant Work Survey. This includes international students, backpackers, graduate visa holders, employer-sponsored workers and other migrants.

The data shows, for the first time, how underpayment, insecure employment structures and non-compliant employer practices cluster together into a single system of exploitation. It reveals how businesses are exploiting gaps in the system that regulators have struggled to address. Two thirds of surveyed migrant workers were paid less than they were owed under Australian law. International students alone may be short-changed by around $61 million every week — $3.18 billion per year.

Key findings

• Australian businesses systematically underpay migrants working on temporary visas. 
• Employers systematically use insecure employment structures to disempower and exploit workers.
• Violations cluster: underpayment is part of a system of exploitation, not an isolated practice. 
• Systemic non-compliance enables employers to cover their tracks. 

The report includes a series of recommendations for the Australian Government to better protect migrant workers.