The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) is committed to ensuring that everyone who is employed in Australia receives the pay and conditions they are entitled to at work. As an international student, you have the same workplace rights and entitlement to minimum wage as everyone else. The FWO’s website has information in 40 different languages to help you know what your rights are.
Want to report a workplace issue but don’t want to get involved?
The FWO wants to know about injustices in the workplace to help make all workplaces fair. Sometimes people are hesitant in coming forward to report something. The FWO’s anonymous reporting tool lets you report a workplace issue without providing any details about yourself. It is available in 17 different languages.
The FWO’s anonymous reporting tool is available in 17 different languages.
Using the anonymous reporting tool means that the FWO will not be able to contact you in relation to the reported concern, or request your employer to give you the correct pay or other entitlements. The FWO uses information received through the anonymous reporting tool to help guide education and enforcement activities.
If you want some help with your employment you can call the FWO on 13 13 94 to talk about your concerns. If you’d prefer to speak to the FWO in your first language you can call the Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS) on 13 14 50. Just tell the operator the language you speak and ask them to call the FWO on 13 13 94.
Worried about what might happen with your visa if you contact the FWO?
Only the Department of Home Affairs can cancel your visa. The FWO has made an agreement with the Department of Home Affairs that a person’s visa will not be cancelled if they seek the FWO’s help, even if they haven’t met the conditions of their visa, as long as they:
- Have an entitlement to work in Australia as part of their visa
- Believe they have been exploited at work
- Have reported their circumstances to the FWO
- Are actively assisting the FWO in an investigation.
This agreement will apply, as long as the person meets their visa conditions in the future, and there are no other reasons why the visa should be cancelled.
