The Importance of Citizenship and Work Rights Checks

Employers in Australia must verify the work rights of all employees to comply with immigration laws. This is essential not only to maintain legal operations but also to uphold ethical standards in employment practices. Recent updates in Australian immigration compliance highlight the significant responsibilities placed on employers. Companies must ensure that they are not hiring individuals without valid work rights, which includes conducting initial checks and ongoing verifications throughout the employment period.

Severe Legal Consequences for Non-Compliance

The legal consequences for non-compliance with citizenship and work rights checks in Australia can be dire. Employers who fail to comply may face:

Penalties for Employers:

• Fines: Up to $93,900 per offence against the company, increasing to $469,500 if the employee has been exploited.
• Imprisonment: Up to 2 years per offence.
• Criminal Liability: For allowing a person to work without a valid visa or in breach of their visa conditions, and failing to take reasonable steps to verify work rights.

This means employers must perform thorough checks such as:

• Sighting Australian/New Zealand passports for new hires.
• Conducting regular VEVO checks for visa holders, recommended every three months.
• Having contracts with third parties to conduct these checks.

Extended Liability: Executive officers, including directors and CEOs, can be held personally liable if they knew about or were negligent regarding work-related contraventions by the company. Penalties escalate if workers are exploited through practices like debt bondage or underpayment. It's crucial to verify work rights for contractors, labour hire workers, and employees of service providers to avoid facilitating illegal work arrangements.

In summary, employers who neglect these checks face hefty fines, potential imprisonment, and extended liability for executives, underlining the critical need for stringent compliance measures.

The Migration Amendment (Strengthening Employer Compliance) Bill 2023

The Australian Government continues to tighten regulations to ensure employers adhere to immigration laws. The Migration Amendment (Strengthening Employer Compliance) Bill 2023 introduces stricter penalties and more rigorous enforcement mechanisms to ensure compliance. This bill underscores the government's commitment to preventing illegal work and protecting vulnerable workers from exploitation. The proposed amendments include increased fines and more comprehensive requirements for verifying work rights, making it imperative for businesses to adopt robust compliance strategies.

WorkPro’s Comprehensive Compliance Solution

Ensuring compliance with citizenship and work rights can be complex, but WorkPro offers a streamlined solution to manage this critical task. WorkPro’s citizenship and work rights check service provides an efficient and reliable way to verify, monitor, and re-check employee work rights. Our service integrates seamlessly with other background checks, offering a comprehensive compliance solution that reduces administrative burden and ensures ongoing adherence to legal requirements.

WorkPro's system is designed to:

• Conduct initial and periodic VEVO checks to verify visa conditions.
• Maintain records of compliance checks to protect your business from legal risks.
• Offer integration with leading HR platforms for seamless operations.

Why Choose WorkPro for Compliance Solutions?

1. Streamlined Processes with Smart Automation: WorkPro’s automated system is designed for simplicity and efficiency, facilitating document requests and tracking with auto-alerts and personalised reminders. By setting reminders at strategic intervals and integrating background checks, WorkPro ensures all compliance obligations recorded in the system are up to date. This unified approach provides a clear view of each candidate's journey to job-readiness, simplifying compliance across the board.

2. Secure, Unlimited Data Storage: WorkPro guarantees unlimited data storage, safeguarded by our security accreditation, ensuring sensitive information is securely housed in a single, central system. As a trusted compliance solution, WorkPro seamlessly integrates with leading HR technologies, which underscores WorkPro's commitment to providing a simple, end-to-end compliance and document management solution.

3. Extensive and Continuous Compliance Monitoring: WorkPro offers a comprehensive suite of local and global background and probity checks, from citizenship and work rights to qualification checks, identity checks, and medical evaluations. Combine specific background checks to suit a role, industry, or legislated requirement, and rely on independent results from reliable sources that allow you to make informed employment decisions from pre-employment through to automated checks during employment.

4. Rapid Turnaround and Comprehensive Support: WorkPro is recognised for swift, reliable turnaround times for background checks, data transparency, exceptional customer support, and seamless integrations. This includes automated verifications, re-checks, and reminders that facilitate rapid hiring, onboarding, and ongoing compliance management.

5. Compliance Pioneer with Enduring Partnerships: WorkPro has established partnerships with industry-recognised database authorities and has been a pioneering partner with government agencies, including the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC), NZ Ministry of Justice, Department of Home Affairs, and Attorney-General’s Department. Its close integration with leading compliance verification services, such as Referoo for reference checking and Jobfit for medical checks, enables these checks to be administered seamlessly within WorkPro, eliminating the need to adopt multiple systems. WorkPro is also a featured compliance system in common people management systems, including Bullhorn, FastTrack, JobAdder, PageUp, SmartRecruiters, Expr3ss!, Onboard Express, and Salesforce’s CTC People.

Don’t leave your business vulnerable to the severe legal consequences of non-compliance with citizenship and work rights checks. Protect your company, your executives, and your employees by utilising WorkPro’s comprehensive compliance solutions.

Take action today: Explore WorkPro’s Citizenship and Work Rights Checks and ensure your workforce is legally compliant.

With WorkPro, compliance is not just a requirement—it's a streamlined, efficient process that safeguards your business and supports a fair, legal workforce. Embrace smart simplicity, actively anticipate your compliance needs, and always deliver a job-ready workforce with WorkPro.

Read more about Citizenship and Right to Work Check

• The Importance of Re-Checking Work Rights
• How to Streamline Your Work Rights Check Process with Technology 
• Citizenship and Work Rights Check: Protecting Employers and Workers
• Common Mistakes in Work Rights Checks and How to Avoid Them
• An Up-to-Date Guide to Work Rights Checks in Australia
• Case Studies and Testimonials: Work Rights Checks and Background Checks with WorkPro