Australia's Migration Strategy: An Effective Response to Migrant Worker Exploitation?

ABSTRACT A series of publicised migrant worker injuries and deaths has drawn attention to the issue of migrant worker exploitation (MWE) in Australia. In response, the Australian Government has included ‘Tackling Worker Exploitation’ as a key area of its Migration Strategy which it introduced in 2023. However, it is unclear how effective the Strategy’ s approach is in addressing this significant area of concern. Using Carol Bacchi's What's the Problem Represented to Be’ (WPR) framework, this paper examines the effectiveness of the Strategy in addressing MWE by unpacking how it is represented as a policy problem. To do so, we analyse the Strategy's MWE‐related provisions according to what they include and exclude, and the assumptions underpinning these decisions. We find MWE to be represented as a problem for individual migrants and employers to solve, obscuring a broader and more structural view of the issue. Further, according to the Strategy , only some migrants are considered worthy of protection, with the rights of undocumented migrants invisible within the text. In response, we call for a more human‐rights‐centred focus towards MWE in which exploitation is understood as occurring within systemic and structural conditions and where all migrants are protected regardless of legal status.