Hidden in plain sight — modern slavery in Australia

Wage theft, exploitation and modern slavery are often reported as isolated scandals — but for many new Australians, they're a necessary evil.

Stories of wage theft in major corporations such as 7-Eleven have made headlines, but research shows that exploitation, wage theft and other illegal practices constitute the normal experience for a majority of Australia's temporary visa holders.

Complicating the matter is that most exploitative arrangements are voluntary.

In researching this story over the last three years, the ABC spoke to, interviewed and regularly engaged with over 100 temporary visa holders subjected to varying levels of workplace exploitation to track how their story evolved over time.

Most people did not want to go on the record because they feared speaking up would jeopardise their future or job prospects, hence the names of the workers in this story have been changed for privacy purposes.

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