Fair Work Ombudsman, Border Force and WA Regulator Inspect 60+ Perth Businesses Employing Visa Workers
Fair Work Ombudsman, Border Force and WA LGIRS inspected 60+ Perth businesses employing 482 visa workers from 3 November 2026. What it means for Perth kitchens.
The Fair Work Ombudsman, Australian Border Force and WA's industrial regulator inspected more than 60 Perth businesses employing visa holders in a joint operation that began on 3 November 2026. Most of the businesses were fast food outlets, restaurants and cafes in the Perth CBD and nearby suburbs, the Fair Work Ombudsman said in a statement on 5 November.
Which Perth businesses did the Fair Work Ombudsman inspect?
The inspections focused on employers of visa holders in the Perth CBD and surrounding suburbs. Most were in the fast food, restaurant and cafe sector. Some were wholesale or retail bakeries, hair and beauty salons and hotels.
The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) said every business visited employs visa holder workers, who can be vulnerable to exploitation. The operation targeted employers of workers on subclass 482 visas, a temporary visa for people with skills in demand. Chefs are one of the largest groups of visa holder employees in Australia, so many of the employers visited were kitchens.
Fair Work Inspectors checked time and wage records, including pay slips, to confirm migrant workers were being paid correctly. Improving compliance in fast food, restaurants and cafes is a stated FWO priority.
What were the three regulators checking?
Each agency had its own job in the operation. The FWO said the joint field visits were designed to share intelligence and extend each regulator's reach.
| Regulator | What it checked |
|---|---|
| Fair Work Ombudsman | Time and wage records and pay slips for workers covered by national workplace law |
| Australian Border Force | Underpayments, unlawful deductions and workers in roles inconsistent with their visa conditions |
| WA LGIRS | State minimum wages and record keeping at businesses outside the national system, with a history of non-compliance or in a high-risk industry |
Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth said the visits were part of a continuing national program with the Department of Home Affairs to check employers of migrant workers. She said teaming up with fellow regulators and sharing intelligence "can help us find and hold to account any businesses who are doing the wrong thing when it comes to employing migrant workers".
Border Force officers from its Sponsor Monitoring Unit and Employer Compliance Operations team attended businesses across Perth. Acting Commander Chris Andino said employers who do the wrong thing may face infringement notices, civil action or being declared a prohibited employer.
LGIRS Director General Lanie Chopping said the department's inspections often find employees paid below award rates or not given pay slips, contrary to state employment laws. She named hospitality and hair and beauty as known high-risk sectors for underpayment.
What rights do visa workers in Perth have?
Visa holders have the same workplace rights as every other worker in Australia, regardless of migration status, both regulators said. Ms Booth said protections for visas exist for workers who report exploitation, and urged anyone with concerns about wages or entitlements to contact the FWO.
Two federal pilot programs are meant to remove migration-related barriers to reporting. The Strengthening Reporting Protections Pilot and the Workplace Justice Visa Pilot are both run by the Department of Home Affairs.
Workers can call the Fair Work Infoline on 13 13 94, or use the free interpreter service on 13 14 50. Information can be given to the FWO anonymously in 16 languages other than English.
What it means for Perth hospitality job seekers
The inspections land in a Perth kitchen market where direct-from-employer ads are thin. On 6 November, Jobs In Perth's feed listed 7 live chef and cook ads in Perth. Crown Perth posted 4 of them, with the rest from South Metropolitan Health Service, North Metropolitan Health Service and the operator of the Wildflower restaurant. Only one of the 7 quoted an annual salary, a hospital food service attendant role from $70,000.
The wider hospitality and catering hub had 31 live direct ads in Perth, and Crown Perth posted 25 of them. Of those 31 ads, 11 were casual, 10 full time, 8 part time and 2 fixed term. Five close within seven days.
Our cafe jobs hub had a single live direct ad: a casual catering, cafe and kitchen role with VenuesWest paying $36.21 to $67.53 an hour. Our chef salary guide covers what Perth kitchens typically advertise.
How we reported this
- Inspection details, sectors, dates and all quotes come from the Fair Work Ombudsman media release of 5 November 2026, which was issued jointly with the Australian Border Force and WA's Department of Local Government, Industry Regulation and Safety.
- The regulators have not released any findings. No business has been named or accused of a breach.
- Jobs In Perth figures are live direct-from-employer ads in our feed, observed on 6 November 2026. Recruitment agency and aggregator ads are not included. These are advertised vacancies, not people employed.
- Cover image: AI-generated illustration, not a photo of the event.
Sources
About this reporting
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