The Australian Greens have called for trade agreements to be independently checked for their economic benefits.
Trade spokesman Senator Peter Whish-Wilson says the process by which the parliament's treaties committee examines deals such as the China-Australia free trade agreement is flawed.
"We need to open up our trade treaty processes ... so these decisions are independently analysed to see if they are in the national interest," he told reporters on Thursday.
Greens MP Adam Bandt will move an amendment in the lower house to the China trade deal enabling laws which would fix what he says are significant loopholes.
"There are real concerns about what it will mean for local workers and also for workers who come in from China and whether they are going to be paid properly and not exploited," he said.
"Labor has been sold a pup with its supposed labour protections."
Migration Act amendments were needed to prevent an unlimited number of overseas workers being brought in without having to advertise locally first.
All a business has to do under the trade agreement is label a worker a "contractual service supplier" and they can work on projects in Australia without the job being advertised.
Mr Bandt said this could see hospital and aged-care nurses and electricians brought in easily from overseas.
