Changes to Australian immigration policy regarding temporary visas such as the 457 subclass have been put in place to protect new migrants from employers looking to exploit workers from abroad.

Changes to temporary visa laws include civil penalties for employers who fail to pay workers the minimum wage, make them work unreasonable hours, or place them in positions of employment that do not appear on the Migration Occupation in Demand List.

Furthermore, the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIoC) will be given greater powers to enforce employer compliance with the 457 visa program, and will have the right to conduct audits and on-site inspections under the new legislation.

The Office of Workplace Services will also be monitoring and investigating breaches in the Minimum Salary Level in the wake of several highly-publicised cases of employers paying workers wages that fell significantly below the minimum bracket in 2006.