An Indonesian man who came to Australia with a dream of a better life was left to pick fruit for below the minimum wage and urinate in farm paddocks, thanks to dodgy operators.
Rizky Oktaviana, 28, came to Australia after working as an unpaid seafarer in South Africa for 18 months, having been promised a job and then being caught up in human trafficking.
Work didn't get much better when he hit Australian shores in December 2017.
Mr Oktaviana picked cherries, apples and stone fruit at four Victorian farms over six months for either below minimum wage rates, or $50 per big bin filled, he told AAP.
"Sometimes they pay me the hourly rate of $17 or sometimes they pay me by piece (work). When there is a lot of fruit, they pay me hourly (not per bin)," he said of the cash-in-hand work.
"There is no toilets sometimes on the farms so I would just look for an empty space and then take a pee."
Mr Oktaviana has since found work at a law-abiding poultry farm.
"I do not want people to (have) unfair treatment in the workforce," he said.
His story is one of many the state government hopes to prevent as it kicks off Victoria's first licensing scheme on Monday to oust dodgy labour hire providers from the state.
Contractors will need to pass a "fit and proper person test" and show compliance with minimum accommodation standards, workplace and labour hire laws to get a licence.
Labour hire providers have six months to obtain a licence or may face a maximum fine of more than $500,000.
Approved operators will need to annually report on their activities.
Industrial Relations Minister Tim Pallas said the crackdown was on operators who believed there were "first and second-class workers".
"This is about protecting the rights of some of Victoria's most vital and vulnerable workers - people who pick our fruit, process our meat and clean our stockroom floors," he said.
Labour Hire Authority Commissioner Steve Dargavel said the focus was to ensure workplace law relating to workers was not breached.
