Published on ABC News on Tuesday 27 August 2024, was the story of the Heir family, who have been victims of a migration scam.
The Heir family, consisting of Pawanjeet, Raj, and their son, endured severe exploitation, blackmail, and human rights abuses after moving to Adelaide in 2013. Pawanjeet, who worked as a cook at Darshana’s Curry and Tea House, was promised sponsorship for a visa but was subjected to wage fraud, forced labor, and threats of deportation. Despite reporting the abuse, their situation worsened. The South Australian Employment Tribunal fined the restaurant owner a mere fraction of the wages owed, while the Heirs were left with no clear path to permanent residency. The family’s case highlights serious deficiencies in Australia’s immigration laws, particularly the lack of provisions to protect victims of exploitation under employer-sponsored visas. Despite ministerial intervention offering a temporary visa, the family still faces an uncertain future, feeling abandoned by a system that failed to deliver justice.
Mark Glazbrook, the Heirs Migration Agent, from Migration Solutions, said “They are broken by what’s happened”.
Commenting on the Minister for Immigration’s decision, Glazbrook ‘argues the government should have granted a permanent residency visa because the business owner Pawanjeet worked for had permission to employ her on a temporary work visa by the Australian federal government – an approved pathway to permanent residency.’
Read the full article here.
