"Dramatic rise in forced labour and exploitation of temporary visa workers,"

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) has reported a dramatic rise in cases of forced labour and exploitation, as criminal networks increasingly use deceptive recruitment tactics to traffic vulnerable workers into Australia...

Since 2018, the AFP has documented 247 reports of forced labour and exploitation, with incidents surging nearly 140 per cent over six years. Victims often endure gruelling conditions, including long hours without breaks, threats of violence, and the confiscation of personal documents such as passports and visas...

The maritime industry has also seen rising exploitation. In December 2023, a Darwin man faced 44 charges for allegedly luring crew members to work on his fishing boat through fraudulent online advertisements, holding them against their will...

Commander Helen Schneider, from AFP Human Exploitation, stressed the human cost of these crimes. “Criminal syndicates treat victims as commodities, forcing them into degrading conditions for profit,” she said. “We urge the public to stay vigilant and report suspicions of human trafficking to the AFP.”...