Every employer in Australia has a legal obligation to ensure that any person they hire has the right to work in this country [1[CW1] ]. That obligation is not limited to the point of hire, it extends to understanding and monitoring a worker’s visa conditions for the duration of their employment [2].
Getting it wrong carries serious consequences. Under the Migration Act 1958, it is a criminal offence to employ, refer, coerce or contract a non-citizen who does not have the right to work in Australia [3]. Penalties apply even where the employer did not know the worker was working illegally, and they apply per worker, meaning the exposure compounds with every individual whose work rights have not been properly verified [3].
Despite these obligations, right-to-work verification remains an area where many Australian businesses fall short, not through deliberate non-compliance, but through common misunderstandings about what constitutes valid proof of work rights, how visa conditions can change over time, and what the law actually requires employers to do on an ongoing basis.
Quick Summary
- Verify every worker’s right to work before they start, citizens and non-citizens alike
- Use VEVO to confirm visa status and conditions for all non-citizens
- Re-check visa conditions regularly, not just at onboarding
- Do not accept Medicare cards, TFNs or driver’s licences as proof of work rights
- Penalties apply per worker, even if the employer didn’t know
- The obligation extends to contractors, labour hire and agency staff
- From 1 July 2024, additional criminal offences apply for exploiting workers’ visa status
- Employers found to be serious or repeat offenders can be publicly listed as prohibited employers
What the Law Requires: Employer Obligations for Verifying Work Rights
The Department of Home Affairs is clear: employers must check that they are employing someone who can legally work in Australia [1]. Some visa holders can work unrestricted, others can work a limited amount, and some cannot work at all [1].
Australian citizens and permanent residents have unlimited work rights. New Zealand citizens holding a Special Category visa can generally work without restriction. For all other non-citizens, the employer must verify that the person holds a valid visa with work rights, and must understand what conditions apply to that visa [1][2].
The Department’s Visa Entitlement Verification Online system (VEVO) is the mechanism through which employers can check a visa holder’s current visa details and conditions [4]. VEVO is available to registered organisations through ImmiAccount and provides real-time information about a person’s visa status, including whether they are permitted to work and any conditions or restrictions that apply [4].
As the Department states in its guidance to employers and labour hire intermediaries, “it is your responsibility as an employer to understand your employees’ visa conditions. You can do this by using the Department’s Visa Entitlement Verification system (VEVO)” [2].
Penalties for Employing Workers Without Valid Work Rights
The penalty framework for employing workers without valid work rights operates across both civil and criminal provisions under the Migration Act 1958 [3].
Civil penalties apply to employers who allow a non-citizen to work in breach of their visa conditions or without a valid visa. The Department of Home Affairs can issue infringement notices directly to employers without the need to apply to a court [3]. Civil penalties apply per illegal worker.
Criminal penalties apply where an employer knowingly or recklessly employs a non-citizen without work rights. These include fines and imprisonment of up to two years per illegal worker [3].
Aggravated offences carry higher penalties where the employer is found to have exploited or coerced a worker without legal work rights [3].
Sponsorship sanctions can also apply to businesses that sponsor workers, including cancellation of sponsorship approval and being barred from future sponsorship [3].
From 1 July 2024, additional criminal offences were introduced under the Migration Amendment (Strengthening Employer Compliance) Act 2024. These make it illegal for employers, sponsors, and labour hire intermediaries to coerce or pressure a temporary visa holder to breach a work-related visa condition, coerce or pressure a non-citizen without a valid visa to accept a work-related arrangement, or use a worker’s temporary visa status to exploit them in the workplace [5][6]. These offences carry criminal penalties including up to two years’ imprisonment [6].
Employers found to have engaged in serious, deliberate or repeated exploitation of migrant workers may be declared prohibited employers, barred from employing more temporary visa holders for a period of time, and listed publicly on the Australian Border Force website [2][5].
Common Right-to-Work Compliance Mistakes Employers Make
Treating VEVO as a One-Off Check
The obligation to verify work rights does not end at onboarding. Visa conditions can change during the course of employment — visas expire, conditions are varied, and in some cases visas are cancelled without the holder being immediately aware [4]. An employer who verified a worker’s right to work at the point of hire but has not checked again may be employing someone whose visa no longer permits them to work, or whose conditions have changed in a way that restricts the type or amount of work they can perform.
The Department of Home Affairs makes clear that employers must understand their employees’ current visa conditions [2]. For non-citizens on temporary visas, this means periodic re-verification, not a single check at the start of the relationship.
Accepting the Wrong Documents as Proof of Work Rights
A common error is accepting documents that do not actually prove a person’s right to work in Australia. A Medicare card, a Tax File Number, a library card, or a driver’s licence cannot be used to demonstrate the right to work [6]. For Australian citizens, acceptable proof includes an Australian passport, a certificate of Australian citizenship with photo identification, or a full Australian birth certificate with photo identification [6]. For non-citizens, employers must run a VEVO check to confirm visa validity and work-related conditions [2][4].
Not Understanding Visa Conditions and Restrictions
Not all work visas are equal. Some temporary visas cap the number of hours a worker can perform in a given period. Others restrict who the visa holder can work for, or the type of work they can do. Some visas permit work in certain locations but not others [4]. Employers who do not check and understand these conditions risk allowing a worker to breach their visa, which is itself a contravention under the Migration Act and can expose the employer to penalties [3].
Overlooking Contractors, Labour Hire, and Non-Traditional Arrangements
The Migration Act defines “allow to work” very broadly. It captures not just direct employment but participation in any arrangement for the performance of work [3]. This means an employer may be liable if a non-citizen working as a contractor, through a labour hire company, or under any other arrangement does not have valid work rights. Employers cannot rely on a recruitment agency or labour hire provider having conducted the check, the obligation sits with any party that participates in the arrangement [2][3].
How to Stay Compliant: A Right-to-Work Checklist for Employers
Verify Work Rights Before Any Worker Starts
For every new worker, whether employee, contractor, or agency staff, verify their right to work in Australia before they commence. For Australian citizens, sight acceptable proof of citizenship. For all non-citizens, run a VEVO check through ImmiAccount to confirm their visa status and conditions [1][2][4].
Establish a Schedule for Ongoing VEVO Re-Verification
For workers on temporary visas, implement a process for periodic VEVO re-checks – particularly ahead of known visa expiry dates, and at regular intervals throughout the employment relationship. Visa conditions can change, visas can be cancelled, and a worker’s status at the point of hire may not reflect their status six or twelve months later [2][4].
Record and Retain Evidence of Every Check
Maintain documented records of every work rights check conducted, including the date, the outcome, and the visa details confirmed. In the event of an investigation or audit, the employer’s ability to demonstrate that appropriate VEVO checks were conducted is a critical factor in determining the regulatory response [3].
Ensure All Parties in the Employment Chain Are Covered
If your organisation engages workers through labour hire, recruitment agencies, or subcontracting arrangements, do not assume that someone else has verified work rights. The Migration Act’s broad definition of “allow to work” means that any party participating in an arrangement where a non-citizen works illegally may be liable [3]. Ensure that your contracts and onboarding processes require, and verify VEVO checks across all engagement types.
How Kinatico CVCheck Can Help
Kinatico CVCheck’s VEVO Visa and Work Entitlement Check verifies a worker’s right to work in Australia by either confirming they are an Australian citizen, or conducting a VEVO visa check on non-Australian citizens which confirms their visa status directly with the Department of Home Affairs. For non-citizens, the check discloses whether the person has no work entitlements, unlimited work entitlements, or limited work entitlements (including any work conditions), along with visa type, grant date, expiry date and passport details, providing a documented, verifiable record that supports your compliance obligations.
The check is completed online, making it a practical option for organisations managing workforces that include a mix of citizens, permanent residents, and temporary visa holders. It can be applied consistently across employees, contractors, and agency staff as part of your standard onboarding process.
How Kinatico Compliance Can Help
Verifying work rights at the point of hire is necessary but not sufficient. Visa conditions change, visas expire, and a workforce that was fully compliant six months ago may not be today.
Kinatico Compliance is a workforce compliance platform that enables organisations to manage ongoing right-to-work verification across their entire workforce. The platform includes an Australian Working Rights Verification that verifies an individual’s visa status and work entitlements using the Department of Home Affairs’ VEVO system. All plans include one annual verification per user, with monthly monitoring of expiry dates and current conditions, meaning visa status changes are flagged to you automatically, rather than you having to rely on manual re-checks.
Beyond working rights verification, Kinatico Compliance offers a comprehensive solution for managing workforce compliance obligations across the employee lifecycle; including a documented audit trail of every verification conducted, the ability to deploy custom compliance activities such as worker self-declarations when visa circumstances change, and centralised visibility across all workers regardless of engagement type, so that contractors, agency staff, and direct employees are all captured within the same compliance framework.\
Sources
[1] Australian Government Department of Home Affairs, Hiring someone in Australia — https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/employing-and-sponsoring-someone/hire-someone-in-australia
[2] Australian Government Department of Home Affairs, Information for employers and labour hire intermediaries — https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/employing-and-sponsoring-someone/migrant-worker-protections/information-for-employers-and-labour-hire-intermediaries
[3] Australian Government Department of Home Affairs, Work-related contraventions — https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/employing-and-sponsoring-someone/employer-responsibilities/work-related-contraventions
[4] Australian Government Department of Home Affairs, Check visa conditions online (VEVO) — https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/already-have-a-visa/check-visa-details-and-conditions/check-conditions-online
[5] Australian Government Department of Home Affairs, Migrant worker protections — https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/help-support/migrant-worker-protections
[6] Australian Government Department of Home Affairs, Strengthening the law to tackle migrant worker exploitation — https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/employer-subsite/files/strengthening-the-law-to-tackle-migrant-worker-exploitation.PDF
