The 'Shadow Economy Taskforce' visited over 15 farms in Griffith to investigate allegations of worker underpayment, false reporting of business income and expenses, exploitation of migrant workers, and illegally providing immigration support, among other claims.
Key Points
- ATO, FWO, ABF joined hands to investigate allegations of migrant worker exploitation in Griffith.
- Being seasonal work, most of the farms hire contractual labour in Griffith, explained the former councillor.
- In the last financial year, 44 individuals and entities were prosecuted in NSW for shadow economy-related offences.
Jojo Singh, one of hundreds of farm workers questioned by authorities, told SBS Punjabi, “I have been working on farms in Griffith since 1994. I have seen many such crackdowns, but last week was the first time I was questioned and asked to present my identification.”
Singh migrated from India to New Zealand and then to Australia in 1994, and is now an Australian citizen.
While he has seen some people working on farms without legitimate visas and many migrants receiving delayed payments from farm owners, he says he has not experienced these issues himself.
“Authorities visited farms during the off-season; we have a large number of people coming to work short-term in the summers,” said Singh.
Griffith, known as the ‘food bowl’ of the Riverina in New South Wales, has a large farming industry, but finding workers remains a challenge, according to Manjit Lally, a community leader and Griffith’s first India-born councillor.
“Such investigations have become the norm on Griffith farms, but it’s not very common for the ATO to be involved in these visits."
“Many horticulture businesses are facing a shortage of skilled labour and often rely on migrants for many jobs, most of which are contractual because they are seasonal,” Lally explained.
“To resolve this, we need to motivate youth to take up local farm jobs, as well as educate contractors and farm owners about laws and regulations.”
ATO Assistant Commissioner Tony Goding said, "Outsourcing labour doesn’t mean outsourcing responsibility."
"Operation Flint is about bringing these practices out of the shadows and making it clear: if you’re not playing by the rules, you can expect to be in our sights"
Official data shows that last financial year, 44 individuals and entities were prosecuted in NSW for shadow economy-related offences.
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