Fair Farms Statement on ABC Investigation into Worker Exploitation
Fair Farms acknowledges today's ABC reporting regarding allegations of worker exploitation within parts of Australia's horticulture sector.
Yesterday's ABC reporting highlighting serious allegations involving labour hire providers operating within Australia's horticulture sector reinforces the importance of strong worker protections, effective regulatory enforcement and nationally consistent labour hire regulation.
Any business that deliberately underpays workers, exploits vulnerable people or repeatedly disregards Australia's workplace laws has no place in Australian horticulture. There can be no excuse for deliberate exploitation. Such conduct harms workers, undermines compliant businesses and damages the reputation of the entire industry.
The overwhelming majority of Australian growers and labour hire providers work hard to comply with their legal obligations and provide fair, lawful and respectful workplaces. They deserve a level playing field where businesses that deliberately exploit workers are identified, held accountable and prevented from gaining a competitive advantage through unlawful practices.
Australia has some of the strongest workplace protections in the world.
The challenge is not the absence of workplace laws, but ensuring they are applied consistently across states and territories and supported by effective, well-resourced enforcement.
Fair Farms has consistently supported reforms that strengthen transparency, accountability and lawful employment practices across Australia's horticulture industry, including nationally consistent labour hire licensing.
A nationally consistent labour hire licensing framework, or, at a minimum, labour hire licensing in every Australian jurisdiction; would strengthen compliance and enforcement across Australia while preventing rogue operators from moving between jurisdictions without appropriate oversight.
This would help to ensure businesses that do the right thing are not undercut by those who deliberately exploit workers.
Fair Farms also supports the introduction of minimum competency requirements for labour hire providers.
Businesses entrusted with employing vulnerable workers should not only demonstrate they are fit and proper, financially compliant and appropriately insured, but also demonstrate that those responsible for employing workers have undertaken appropriate training and can competently apply Australia's workplace laws, including correctly interpreting and applying the relevant Modern Awards. There can be no excuse for businesses failing to understand the legal obligations that accompany employing workers.
Every worker deserves to be employed lawfully, paid correctly and treated with dignity through fair and ethical employment practices, regardless of who employs them. These obligations apply equally to growers and labour hire providers.
Independent assurance programs such as Fair Farms, effective regulatory enforcement and informed supply chain purchasing each have an important role to play in improving transparency, strengthening accountability, identifying risks and driving continuous improvement across the industry. Together, they help protect workers while ensuring businesses that invest in doing the right thing are not placed at a competitive disadvantage by those who choose to ignore the law.
Protecting workers is a shared responsibility.
It requires government, regulators, retailers, growers, labour hire providers and independent assurance programs to work together to improve transparency, strengthen accountability, identify non-compliance, support businesses to improve, and help to ensure those who deliberately exploit workers are removed from supply chains and held accountable.
For further information, please contact:
Amanda Higgins
National Program Manager Fair Farms