Cleaning company forced to refund migrants $1m over visa promises

A Melbourne cleaning company must refund 90 migrants who paid for a work program thinking they would get permanent residency.

File imag of a man cleaning the windows of a high rise office building in the central business district in Sydney. Source: AAP

A Melbourne cleaning company is refunding migrants who paid hefty fees in the hope of getting a job and permanent residency.

The Federal Court has ordered Clinica Internationale and its sole shareholder Radovan Montague Laski to pay $1.025 million for misleading 90 migrants.

Many of the victims paid more than $10,000 each to participate in a training and sponsored employment program they were told would lead to permanent residency in Australia.

Clinica never had cleaning jobs available for the workers, and even if it did, the positions did not meet the skill requirements for permanent residency, the court found.

Most of the migrants were newly arrived, on temporary visas, had limited work experience and were under time pressure to get permanent residency to stay in the country.

The court found Mr Laski was the "controlling mind of Clinica" and disqualified him from managing corporations for five years.

Justice Debra Mortimer said Clinica and Mr Laski "preyed on the dreams" of people wanting to obtain long term residency in Australia.

"The scheme took advantage of the vulnerable nature of the prospective clients and their desperation to secure employment as a pathway to a visa," Justice Mortimer said.