Member

The changes to the overseas domestic worker visa were made in 2012. We now have a six-month non-renewable visa tied to an employer, leaving the worker undocumented. The changes did not reduce the demand for domestic workers but—I am advised on this by third sector organisations working with people who are in this situation—they produced a significant increase in the rates of exploitation. In fact, the term used for that increase is “escalation”. The amendment would enable leaving the employer and finding a new job, though in the same sector, for 12 months. That period is important. The visa holder, if left only with the tail-end of a visa, may have only a few weeks or even a few days left. It is not sensible for any respectable new employer to take on someone with hardly any time that can be given to a new job.