U.S. Dep't of State, 2025 Trafficking in Persons Report: Australia

AUSTRALIA (Tier 1) The Government of Australia fully meets the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. The government continued to demonstrate serious and sustained efforts during the reporting period; therefore, Australia remained on Tier 1. These efforts included establishing and implementing a pilot pathway to improve victims’ access to support services without law enforcement referral; identifying more trafficking victims; increasing trafficking investigations, prosecutions, and convictions; prosecuting a senior government official for alleged complicity; and creating two visa pilot programs to support migrant worker workplace exploitation claims. Although the government meets the minimum standards, it did not adequately screen vulnerable groups, including domestic workers, international students, and migrant workers, for trafficking indicators.

The government lacked suitable and accessible accommodations for trafficking victims and did not ban importation of goods made with forced labor. PRIORITIZED RECOMMENDATIONS: Increase the availability and quality of protection services – including short-term shelter, long-term housing, financial assistance, legal assistance, counseling, and medical care – for all trafficking victims, including potential trafficking victims. Proactively identify trafficking victims by screening for trafficking indicators among vulnerable populations, including individuals in commercial sex, undocumented migrants, asylum-seekers, agricultural and hospitality industry workers, visa holders, and domestic workers, and refer them to care. Vigorously investigate and prosecute trafficking crimes, including those involving complicit officials, and seek adequate penalties for convicted traffickers, which should involve significant prison terms.

Investigate and prosecute labor trafficking under anti-trafficking laws instead of as labor or employment violations. Further decouple the provision of services to victims from participation in the criminal justice process and increase services available to victims unable or unwilling to participate in the criminal justice process, including by effectively implementing the Alternate Referral Pathway. Amend the statutory definition of trafficking under the criminal code to not require movement of the victim as an element of the crime. Continue to train front-line officials, including police and immigration officers, on the indicators of trafficking and victim-centered and trauma-informed approaches to law enforcement efforts, as well as the use of psychological coercion as a means of trafficking.

Establish the National Labour Hire Registration Scheme with sufficient compliance tools. Train judges, prosecutors, and law enforcement officials on the application of trafficking laws, elements of trafficking, investigative techniques, evidence collection specific to trafficking cases, and alternatives to victim testimony. Expand efforts to raise awareness on all forms of human trafficking, particularly among rural communities, migrant workers, and among vulnerable populations, including individuals in commercial sex, international students, and individuals with disabilities. Conduct initial screening interviews with potential victims in a safe and neutral location and in the presence of a social service professional.

Establish a national compensation scheme for trafficking victims. Strengthen efforts to prosecute and convict Australians engaged in extraterritorial child sexual exploitation and abuse in the tourism sector. Increase efforts to investigate and hold accountable foreign diplomats posted in Australia suspected of complicity in trafficking.

PROSECUTION

The government increased law enforcement efforts. Divisions 270 and 271 of the Commonwealth Criminal Code, when read together, criminalized sex trafficking and labor trafficking. Inconsistent with international law, the definition of “trafficking” under Division 271 required the element of movement of a victim. However, Division 270, which criminalized “slavery,” “servitude,” and “forced labor” crimes, could be utilized to prosecute trafficking crimes that did not involve victim movement.

Division 271 prescribed penalties of up to 12 years’ imprisonment for crimes involving an adult victim and up to 25 years’ imprisonment for those involving a child victim. These penalties were sufficiently stringent and, with regard to sex trafficking, commensurate with those prescribed for other grave crimes, such as rape. Division 270 prescribed penalties of up to 25 years’ imprisonment for slavery, up to 15 years’ imprisonment for servitude, and up to nine years’ imprisonment for forced labor. These penalties were all sufficiently stringent.

During the reporting period, the government used Divisions 272.14 and 474.26, which criminalized procuring a child to engage in sexual activity, to prosecute child sex trafficking crimes; the provisions prescribed penalties of up to 15 years’ imprisonment. The government completed its review of Divisions 270 and 271 and released its findings in the previous reporting period. The government agreed to develop potential legislative reforms to address the findings and reported targeted consultations on proposed reforms. In 2024, authorities initiated 200 investigations – 84 for sex trafficking, 80 for labor trafficking, 25 for unspecified forms of exploitation, and 11 for extraterritorial commercial child sexual exploitation and abuse – compared with initiating 123 investigations in 2023.

Authorities continued 57 previously initiated investigations – 16 for sex trafficking, 26 for labor trafficking, and 15 for unspecified forms of exploitation. Authorities prosecuted 66 alleged traffickers – 51 for sex trafficking, four for forced labor, and 11 for engaging in extraterritorial commercial child sexual exploitation and abuse abroad – compared with prosecuting 14 alleged traffickers in 2023. Authorities continued previously initiated prosecutions of 67 defendants, including 15 perpetrators alleged to have engaged in extraterritorial commercial child sexual exploitation and abuse abroad. In 2024, courts convicted 60 traffickers – 49 for sex trafficking, two for unspecified forms of trafficking, and nine for engaging extraterritorial commercial child sexual exploitation and abuse abroad – compared with convicting one labor trafficker and two perpetrators of extraterritorial commercial child sexual exploitation and abuse in the previous reporting period.

Courts convicted one labor trafficking case on appeal in 2024. Some of the investigations, prosecutions, and convictions may not have been trafficking crimes according to the international law definition. Courts sentenced 37 percent of traffickers to less than one years’ imprisonment or suspended terms of imprisonment. Sentences for those convicted of extraterritorial commercial child sexual exploitation and abuse ranged from four years to 23 years’ imprisonment.

Authorities pursued labor, immigration, or employment violations in lieu of trafficking charges, which may have resulted in suspected traffickers receiving only fines and other civil penalties that were inadequate to deter trafficking crimes. The government charged a senior government official for child sex trafficking; the government suspended the official from his position, and the prosecution was ongoing at the end of the reporting period. The Australian Federal Police (AFP) Human Exploitation Command was the lead national agency for trafficking investigations, and had dedicated trafficking investigation teams in Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne. The government collaborated with foreign agencies on trafficking investigations and strengthened foreign counterparts’ law enforcement capabilities to combat human trafficking crimes.

The government trained police, labor inspectors, immigration officers, government officials, and health care and community front-line workers on various anti-trafficking topics, including human trafficking investigations, trauma informed approaches, anti-trafficking enforcement policies and laws, victim identification and referral, and victim support services. In addition, the government trained government officials to identify, assess, and mitigate modern slavery risks in procurement processes. Prosecutors relied heavily on victim-witness testimony to prosecute trafficking crimes. Though prosecutors participated in and presented on trafficking to various fora, the government did not report prosecutors received training on the trafficking law or prosecuting trafficking cases.

The government did not provide anti-trafficking training to judicial officials. Government officials and civil society representatives reported concern that law enforcement officials were not recognizing cases of human trafficking. In addition, observers previously reported a lack of understanding of psychological coercion among law enforcement officials. Survivors previously reported being treated as criminals rather than victims when they sought assistance from law enforcement.

PROTECTION

The government increased efforts to identify and protect victims. Authorities identified 108 victims – 12 exploited in sex trafficking, 79 in forced labor, and 17 in unspecified forms of exploitation – compared with identifying 59 victims the previous year. The government updated its list of trafficking indicators and referral protocol which authorities used to identify and refer trafficking victims to services. Authorities identified most victims through referrals from community members, health care facilities, law enforcement agencies, and NGOs.

Authorities often linked trafficking to migration and inadequately screened for trafficking indicators in the agricultural and hospitality industries and among offshore migrants. According to observers, some law enforcement officials asserted women who chose to migrate to Australia to participate in commercial sex establishments could not be exploited in trafficking because they made the initial choice to migrate to Australia, despite international law making clear that initial consent is irrelevant in trafficking crimes. Despite persistent reports of sexual exploitation, forced labor, and multiple trafficking indicators among foreign workers in Australia under the auspices of the Working Holiday Visa scheme and the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme, authorities did not report proactively screening PALM workers for trafficking indicators. The government reported proactively screening for trafficking indicators among Working Holiday Visa scheme holders at the visa processing stage.

However, an Australia Border Force (ABF) official previously reported that the ABF was not very proactive in screening individuals for trafficking indicators. Authorities reported using a standard process to screen individuals for trafficking indicators prior to deportation. The government commissioned a review of, and development of a monitoring and evaluation plan for, a new screening and referral toolkit to assist border officials to identify and refer “irregular migrants,” including trafficking victims. The government conducted interviews with seasonal workers who left their employer and reported if the interviews showed trafficking indicators, the matter would be referred to the police.

Observers reported victims were sometimes reluctant to communicate with law enforcement officers because of a fear of deportation and the existence of language barriers. Civil society reported many victims remained unaware of their rights and the terms of their visas, inhibited them from reporting exploitation. The government developed resources to inform victims and first responders of trafficking indicators, rights of victims, and available support services. Authorities and civil society referred potential trafficking victims to the government-funded and NGO-operated Support for Trafficked People Program (support program).

The government established and implemented the Additional Referral Pathway (ARP) pilot, in coordination with civil society, to provide access to the support program without requiring identification and referral by the AFP, removing a barrier to services for some victims. The pilot referral pathway was scheduled to end November 2025; the government conducted an ongoing evaluation of the pathway to inform next steps. Authorities and NGOs referred 108 potential victims to the support program, compared with authorities referring 59 in 2023. The government allocated $24.3 million Australian dollars ($15.074 million) to the support program over five years (2023-2027), compared with $3.35 million Australian dollars ($2.078 million) during the 2022-2023 funding year.

The government dedicated the funding to combine the assessment and intensive support stream and the extended intensive support stream into a single stream to temporarily increase the minimum number of days for assistance from 45 days to 90 days; provide support for children of victims; and provide follow-up check-ins after survivors departed the support program. The government continued evaluating the support program with dedicated funding. The ARP enabled the government to provide potential victims with emergency assistance, accommodation, and referral to legal and migration services while a consortium of civil society organizations conducted an assessment of eligibility for and referral to the support program. Civil society reported the ARP increased access to support for vulnerable populations and those who did not want to pursue a criminal justice pathway; however, access to the ARP could be improved by removing visa barriers to entry.

The government also assisted 23 potential trafficking victims abroad, compared with assisting 17 in the previous year; these cases may have included victims of forced marriage, kidnapping, genital mutilation, and individuals vulnerable to forced marriage. The support program could provide tailored, case-managed, individualized support, including emotional and general support, to survivors, and referred survivors to other civil society organizations for legal support, training and education, psychological and medical care, and immigration support. The support program had five “streams” that officials tailored to the needs of the victim. The intensive support stream assisted victims for up to 90 days, irrespective of whether they were willing or able to assist with the investigation or prosecution of trafficking cases.

The temporary trial support stream assisted victims providing evidence for a prosecution. The justice support stream aided victims until authorities finalized their case investigation or prosecution. The forced marriage support stream provided those in or at risk of forced marriage – who may or may not have been trafficking victims according to the international law definition – with up to 200 days of support and did not require participation in an investigation or prosecution. The transition support stream assisted survivors leaving the support program by making referrals and providing assistance for up to 20 days.

The government offered three-, six-, and 12-month check-ins with case workers for survivors after departing the support program. The government did not report efforts to address previously reported concerns about the lack of suitable and accessible accommodations for trafficking survivors. The government did not operate a dedicated trafficking shelter and survivors needed ongoing income and a valid visa for long-term accommodations, which an NGO reported was very difficult for survivors to receive. An NGO operated three accommodation options for trafficking survivors, including one for young people and two for general victims; a long waitlist hindered access to some survivors.

Housing options for victims were also not suitable; the accommodations included curfews and limited visit times, potentially re-traumatizing victims. Limited services were available for survivors who departed the program and reported difficulty for survivors to find ongoing support. Some survivors faced prolonged delays in receiving assistance, and many survivors faced homelessness because of inadequate housing options furnished by the government. Some victim support services were contingent on participation in law enforcement investigations and the government reportedly ceased provision of services when investigations ended.

If an adult victim was unable or unwilling to participate in an investigation or prosecution, once the 90-day intensive support stream ended, the government relied on the NGO service provider to refer the survivor to other nongovernmental support services; some particularly vulnerable victims were eligible for an extended transition period up to 40 business days. The government did not report how many victims participated in the investigation and prosecution of traffickers. The government allowed victims to provide video-recorded testimonies but did not report any victims choosing to do so. The government could provide witness protection to trafficking victims.

The government could provide temporary and permanent visas to eligible victims. In 2024, the government provided 23 temporary stay visas to foreign trafficking victims, compared with 17 victims in 2023. The government granted fewer than five permanent “referred stay” visas to potential victims, some of whom may have been victims of forced marriage rather than trafficking; the government did not grant any permanent stay visas in 2023. Courts ordered an alleged trafficker, who served as a foreign diplomat in Australia, to pay $136,000 Australian dollars ($84,367) in compensation under the Fair Work Act to one labor trafficking victim exploited in 2015; the government did not report whether the trafficker paid the victim before the end of the reporting period.

The government did not order any traffickers to pay restitution to trafficking victims and did not have a national victim compensation system for crime victims; victims relied on civil proceedings to access compensation. The government reviewed remedies, including victims’ financial assistance and reparation orders, available to trafficking victims.

PREVENTION

The government maintained efforts to prevent trafficking. The Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Branch of the Attorney General’s Department (AGD) led the government’s domestic response to trafficking; the AGD was the chair of the Australian Interdepartmental Committee on Human Trafficking and Slavery (IDC), which met six times in 2024, coordinated the government’s anti-trafficking policy framework, and led implementation of the 2020-2025 NAP. The government continued to use the $10.6 million Australian dollars ($6.576 million) initially allocated in 2020 to support NAP implementation over five years. The interagency Operational Working Group, a subcommittee of the IDC, focused on operational issues and information sharing in relation to trafficking issues and met six times in 2024.

The pilot survivor advisory council, which included survivors of labor exploitation, as part of the government funded NGO-led Lived Experience Engagement Program, continued to provide guidance on government policies, including the victim and survivor engagement and empowerment strategy, and on awareness campaigns and anti-trafficking trainings. The government convened its National Roundtable on Human Trafficking and Slavery twice, which included government agencies and civil society representatives. Government officials and civil society representatives reported a need for increased communication and collaboration between state and federal government agencies, and with civil society on trafficking issues. Following the dedication of $8 million Australian dollars ($4.963 million) to establish the position in 2023, the government appointed Australia’s first federal Anti-Slavery Commissioner.

The government conducted awareness campaigns targeting government officials and the public and it awarded funding to nine NGOs to implement community prevention programs in Australia. Observers noted many foreign workers did not know their workplace rights and observers in Pacific Island countries reported many migrant workers did not fully understand their offers or conditions of employment prior to arriving in Australia, despite reportedly receiving and reading their letter of offer and employment before arrival. The government reported it conducted pre-departure briefings in the workers’ home countries and languages. However, some pre-departure trainings may not have included information on human trafficking.

The government funded an academic institution, an NGO, a religious organization, and two health care networks to research various anti-trafficking topics, including on the effectiveness of screening processes in emergency departments, barriers to support for trafficking victims, and artificial intelligence solutions for reviewing business compliance with Modern Slavery Act requirements. The government funded an academic institution to evaluate NAP progress, which included the establishment and piloting of a project to track reports of modern slavery in Australia and victim and perpetrator characteristics. The government maintained MOUs with the Governments of Tonga, Papua New Guinea, and Timor-Leste on migrant worker protections. The Modern Slavery Act 2018 required businesses and entities with annual revenue of $100 million Australian dollars ($62.035 million) or greater to publish an annual modern slavery statement detailing their efforts to combat modern slavery in their supply chains and operations, among other provisions.

The government published its fifth Modern Slavery statement in compliance with the Act and updated the publicly available online registry of all submitted statements. Although the Act allowed for the government to require remedial measures from some entities that imported goods made with forced labor, it did not ban such goods outright. Observers noted the Act did not impose financial or criminal penalties on companies for non-compliance or require companies to take steps to prevent forced labor; in an analysis of 80 company statements from 2023, an NGO concluded 40 percent of companies effectively met their reporting obligations under the Act. The government completed its review of the Act in 2023 to assess its effectiveness, then established a Modern Slavery Expert Advisory Group, which included private sector, civil society, and academic experts, to advise the AGD on measures to strengthen it.

The government released its response to the review in December 2024 and reported consulting with the Anti-Slavery Commissioner and the expert advisory group to implement the response. In 2024, the government committed $2.5 million Australian dollars ($1.550 million) to review Commonwealth procurement procedures and supply chains for trafficking risks for two years. The government adopted a code of conduct requiring suppliers ensure organizations in their supply chain are not causing, contributing to, or directly linked to modern slavery. The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) prioritized the prevention of potential labor exploitation – including human trafficking – among migrant workers, particularly in the horticulture industries, and conducted awareness campaigns targeting international students and small business operators.

The government allocated $27.5 million Australian dollars ($17.060 million) to target non-compliance with the Fair Work Act by corporate employers; $20.5 million Australian dollars ($12.717 million) to support proactive business compliance with the Fair Work Act; $2.7 million Australian dollars ($1.675 million) to monitor compliance with payment of certain seafarer wages; and $3.9 million Australian dollars ($2.419 million) to address exploitation of migrant workers. The FWO could impose administrative fines against employers for workplace violations, including in some cases that involved trafficking indicators. Civil society reported a distrust of the FWO among migrant workers as it did not address some migrant workers’ complaints after the workers reported their exploitation. Civil society and government officials reported the FWO did not proactively identify trafficking crimes and expressed concern the FWO’s lack of adequate training on forced labor indicators may have resulted in unidentified trafficking situations.

The government amended the Fair Work Act to raise the threshold of unpaid entitlements employees can recover from $20,000 to $100,000 Australian dollars ($12,400 to $62,000). Domestic workers in Australia – especially in the state of Western Australia or those lacking a contract – remained vulnerable to exploitation because of the lack of clear protective oversight mechanisms relevant to these populations. The government began drafting an intergovernmental agreement for the establishment of a national Labour Hire regulator, in response to a recommendation from the February 2019 Migrant Workers Taskforce Report to create a national Labour Hire Registration Scheme requiring recruitment agencies in designated high-risk industries to register with the government and employers to use only these registered agencies. Authorities implemented similar registration schemes in Queensland and South Australia, Victoria, and the Australian Capital Territory.

In the Working Holiday Visa program, the government’s requirement of completing 88 days to obtain a second-year or third-year visa remained a key driver for coercion among visa holders which remained in place except for British citizens. The government did not implement a recommendation, from the September 2021 Select Committee on Temporary Migration in Parliament’s report , to remove the 88-day requirement with respect to farm work to be eligible for a second or third Working Holiday Visa. The government amended the Fair Work Act in 2024 to set standards for workers in the unofficial economy and restrict employer defenses against allegations of sham contracting. The government amended the Migration Act in July 2024 to include three new criminal offenses prohibiting workplace exploitation based on immigration status, a prohibition on exploitative employers from hiring migrant workers for a period of time, and increase penalties for employer non-compliance.

The legislation repealed Section 235 of the Migration Act, which criminalized migrant workers breaching work-related visa conditions, removing a barrier to reporting exploitation. The government took some steps to implement the Migration Strategy visa framework announced in 2023 to increase protections for temporary workers, penalties for abusive employers, and post-arrival checks for sponsored workers; it introduced two visa pilot programs to support and encourage reporting and resolution of workplace exploitation claims and increased protections for international students by increasing standards for and imposing restrictions on student visas. The government suspended the Assurance Protocol – whereby the FWO could refer visa holders who breached their work-related visa conditions due to workplace exploitation to the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) to prevent their visa from being cancelled – for the duration of the Strengthening Reporting Protections pilot program. Observers previously reported the Assurance Protocol was inadequate to protect workers, including potential unidentified trafficking victims, and temporary visa holders were hesitant to use it out of fear of visa cancellation and deportation.

Under the PALM, workers’ employment and immigration status were tied to a specific employer; observers noted this increased migrant workers’ vulnerability to forced labor. In June 2023, the government finalized employer guidelines for the PALM scheme to obligate employers to take steps to identify human trafficking in its operations; the government did not report how it enforced these new guidelines. Observers reported an insufficiently regulated migration agent system and complicit migration agents enabled traffickers to circumvent the immigration system and exploit victims; the national audit office reported DHA failed to monitor migration agents and allowed those subject to numerous complaints, including of sex trafficking, to continue operating for years without sanctions due to failed federal government oversight. The government created a new ABF-led immigration compliance division to protect the integrity of the visa and migration system by investigating corrupt migration agents, identifying vulnerabilities in the immigration system, and identifying and supporting trafficking victims who are temporary visa holders.

The government reported implementation of the recommendations included in its action plan developed in the previous reporting period in response to a review of its visa framework was subject to resourcing and funding priorities. The government operated a national police hotline to report various crimes, including human trafficking, but did not have a dedicated human trafficking hotline. The government funded a new NGO-run hotline for trafficking victims to contact the ARP; the hotline operated for eight hours every weekday, excluding holidays. The government funded an NGO-operated online reporting platform to identify labor exploitation and provide information on support services.

The government operated a FWO hotline and trained its operators to identify trafficking indicators. The government did not report the number of investigations initiated or victims identified as a result of reports to any of these mechanisms. The government worked with foreign governments by engaging in anti-trafficking dialogue, sharing information, raising awareness, conducting trainings, funding programming and research, and providing technical assistance. The government conducted annual welfare checks on foreign domestic workers of foreign diplomats.

Australia maintained policy and legislative frameworks to prevent, detect, disrupt, investigate, and prosecute child sexual abuse and exploitation, including crimes that occurred online, in Australia and overseas. The government made efforts to reduce the demand for participation in extraterritorial commercial child sexual exploitation and abuse by its citizens by publishing materials for passport applicants outlining the application of Australian child sex trafficking laws to Australians overseas. The government did not report how many passports it cancelled or denied in 2024, compared with cancelling 54 passports and denying 12 passports to registered child sex offenders in 2023. In addition, authorities provided 386 notifications to foreign counterparts regarding traveling Australian and foreign national child sex offenders, compared with 257 in 2023.

The government did not make efforts to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts in Australia. TRAFFICKING PROFILE: Trafficking affects all communities. This section summarizes government and civil society reporting on the nature and scope of trafficking over the past five years. Human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Australia, and traffickers exploit victims from Australia abroad.

Traffickers exploit Australians – including Aboriginal Australians – foreign women, and a small number of children, primarily teenage Australian and foreign girls, in sex trafficking in the country, including in commercial sex establishments. Some women from Asia, and to a lesser extent Eastern Europe and Africa, migrate to Australia to work legally or illegally in a number of sectors, including commercial sex. After their arrival, traffickers compel some of these women to enter or remain in commercial sex in legal and illegal commercial sex establishments, as well as massage parlors, motels, and private apartments. Traffickers hold some foreign women – and sometimes girls – in captivity and exploit them through physical and sexual violence and intimidation, manipulate them through illegal drugs, and force them to pay off unexpected or inflated debts.

Traffickers attempt to evade authorities by allowing victims to carry their passports while in commercial sex establishments and frequently moving the victims to different locations to prevent them from establishing relationships with civil society or other victims. Traffickers isolate foreign women and girls from Australian women to inhibit information sharing about rights, regulations, and work standards in commercial sex establishments, leaving foreign women and girls uninformed about legal commercial sex laws and regulations and more vulnerable to sex trafficking. Civil society reports the prevalence of illegal commercial sex establishments is four to five times more prevalent than legal commercial sex establishments, increasing vulnerability to trafficking for individuals in commercial sex. Some women in forced marriages are vulnerable to human trafficking, including being exploited by their husbands or families in domestic servitude.

Workers in the fashion manufacturing sector experience indicators of labor trafficking. Individuals with disabilities face an increased vulnerability to trafficking, including in coordination with theft of National Disability Insurance Scheme funds. Unscrupulous employers and labor agencies exploit some men and women from Asia and several Pacific Islands in forced labor in agriculture, horticulture, cleaning, construction, hospitality and tourism, food service, and domestic service. An investigation by the FWO in a prior year found some fraudulent foreign contracting companies exploit farm workers in bonded labor.

There are cases of forced labor and other forms of exploitation in the agriculture and horticulture sectors, where victims (often foreign migrants from Asia) are threatened against leaving their jobs or seeking help. Traffickers may exploit temporary migrants, including individuals on working holiday visas, individuals in the PALM scheme and in breach of their visa conditions, and international students, in forced labor, especially when based in remote regions with limited access to support. Some identified victims are foreign citizens on student visas who pay significant placement and academic fees. Unscrupulous employers may coerce students to work in excess of the terms of their visas, making them vulnerable to trafficking by exploiting fears of deportation for immigration violations.

Migrant workers sometimes lack awareness of Australian workplace laws and access to health care, legal protections available to the domestic workforce, or available support to those experiencing volatile employment, uncertain visa conditions, or language barriers, increasing their vulnerability to trafficking. Employers may legally discriminate against certain temporary visa holders, which limits the number of jobs available to workers and increases their vulnerability to exploitative work conditions. Some foreign diplomats allegedly exploit domestic workers in forced labor in Australia. Changes in 2019 to entitlements for diplomats in Australia may have slightly reduced the overall number of foreign domestic workers in the country.

Instances of forced labor in domestic service are sometimes undetected or unacknowledged by authorities and thus not captured in official statistics. Reports indicate some migration agents urge migrant workers to move to Australia under false visa applications, including to engage in the commercial sex industry, increasing migrant workers’ vulnerability to trafficking. Reports also indicate more than a dozen Australian education providers knowingly help South Korean women enter Australia on false student visas to work in the commercial sex industry, increasing their vulnerability to sex trafficking. Traffickers exploit men in forced labor in the fishing and maritime industries; some fishing vessels that transit or dock at Australian ports use physical abuse to force men to perform labor.

Victims of domestic servitude in Australia work in extremely isolated circumstances with little to no oversight or regulation. Asylum-seekers, detained for attempting to reach Australia by sea or waiting for application decisions, may be more vulnerable to forced labor or sex trafficking because of displacement, economic instability, or lack of access to basic resources and community support networks. Reports show an increase of Australians engaging in the online sexual exploitation of children, particularly involving child victims in the Philippines. A small number of Australian residents may facilitate and engage in commercial sex and extraterritorial child sexual exploitation and abuse abroad, including in Thailand.

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