Migrant Workers Centre

Migrant Workers Centre: advocacy and advice for migrant workers in Victoria

The Migrant Workers Centre (MWC) is an organisation based in Carlton, Victoria, working to help migrant workers understand their rights, enforce them in their workplaces and connect with other migrant workers. Its work combines free legal assistance, workplace education and advocacy, and is aimed at both migrant workers and temporary visa holders.

Assistance services and programmes

The organisation offers legal help and guidance resources, and runs specific initiatives such as the ISEAL programme (International Student Employment and Accommodation Program), the Workplace Justice Visa, the «Know Your Rights at Work» training sessions and the Work Ready volunteer programme. It also organises events and encourages participation through subscriptions, ambassadors and support campaigns.

Research and publications

The MWC produces reports and studies on the working conditions of migrants in Australia. Its publications include research carried out together with the Institute for Safety, Compensation and Recovery Research (ISCRR) and WorkSafe Victoria on the experiences of injured workers who need interpreters in the workers' compensation system, and on migrant workers in the home-based care sector. Other reports address the exploitation of migrant workers based on a survey with 959 responses, the challenges faced by international students in the migration and education systems, job opportunities for migrants in collaboration with Unions NSW, the impact of visa discrimination on the job market, and the problems arising from visa processing delays. The organisation has also published the book «Backpacker Dispatches: Working Holiday Stories from Australia», by Lea Knopf.

News and testimonials

Its news section features cases such as that of Leonito, a worker who came from Timor-Leste and was injured while working as a fruit picker, and that of Thomas, who came from Vanuatu under the PALM (Pacific Australia Labour Mobility) scheme. It also publishes regular newsletters about its free legal assistance, workplace education and advocacy work in Victoria.

Contact and funding

The organisation is staffed from 9:00 to 17:00, Monday to Friday, and responds to messages received outside those hours as soon as possible. For media enquiries, the contact is Omar Ghazala, Communications Manager. Migrant Workers Centre Limited is funded by the Department of Premier and Cabinet and acknowledges the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nations as the traditional owners and custodians of the land.

54 Victoria St, Carlton 3053 VIC · Phone: (03) 7009 6710