Wage theft remains rampant in Australian horticulture, even during COVID-19. This investigative report explores the nature of underpayment and worker exploitation in northern NSW’s blueberry industry, unearthing allegations and evidence of gross underpayment and abuse inflicted upon working holiday-makers and others.

Interrogating both the extent of labour shortages in the horticulture industry for pickers, packers and graders and the level of non-compliance with labour standards, this report examines horticulture labour supply to develop an evidence base for analysing the effectiveness of existing practices and to identify areas for potential reform.

Despite the prominence of migrant worker exploitation in the media, there has been limited empirical data on the overall nature and extent of wage theft among international students and backpackers in Australia. This study begins to fill these gaps.

Among the collateral damage of an early election – especially a double dissolution election – is the work of parliamentary committees. At 9am on 9 May, each and every committee of the forty-fourth parliament ceased to exist and many inquiries lapsed, their investigations unfinished. Having had fair warning of Turnbull’s intentions, other committees rushed out...

Under Australia’s Working Holiday Maker (WHM) program, young people (aged 18 to 30 years) from certain countries may apply for one of two visas—Working Holiday (subclass 417) or Work and Holiday (subclass 462). The visa available to applicants depends on their country of citizenship, but both visas enable young people to travel in Australia for...