In Australia, it is a criminal offence under the Migration Act for a person to ‘knowingly’ or ‘recklessly’ allow someone to work, or to refer someone for work with another business, if they do not have a legal right to work in Australia.

Visit the Employer Obligations on DIAC website.

Mandatory ‘Permission to Work’ Check

Before an employer offers employment to a worker, they are legally required to check if they have valid working rights in Australia. Employers and recruitment firms on-hiring workers, are lawfully required to cite the workers evidence of their right to work in Australia. Optimum will retain a copy of this evidence on file. This includes the worker’s passport bio-data page and visa label (if one is issued by DIAC), or the visa approval notification (including all dependents). It also can include other approved items to prove Citizenship status such as a valid birth certificate or a Certificate of Citizenship.

What do I need to provide to prove my Work Rights?

Australian Citizens and New Zealand Citizens have unlimited work rights in Australia (note New Zealand Permanent Residents do not – they require a visa). To verify a Citizenship/Permanent Residency status, any of the following documents have been approved by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) as evidence. Please present one of the options to your Consultant:

• an Australian/New Zealand passport;
• Australian/New Zealand “Citizenship Certificate” AND another form of photo identification such as a driver’s licence; or
• “Certificate of Evidence of Citizenship” AND another form of photo identification such as a driver’s licence; or
• Australian birth certificate showing that at least one parent was born in Australia AND another form of photo identification such as a driver’s licence
• an Australian birth certificate (issued before 20 August 1986) AND another form of photo identification such as a driver’s licence

If you were born in Australia, you can obtain a copy of your birth certificate at the Birth, Deaths & Marriages office local to you. DIAC’s guidelines state the following is not proof of a person’s entitlement to work:

• a tax file number
• a driver’s licence
• a Medicare card
• Job Services Australia Job Seeker ID number
• a bank account
• referrals from other employment agencies or labour suppliers
• references from previous employers

Australian Permanent Residents, NZ Permanent Residents & all international workers We need to conduct a Work Rights check using DIAC’s Visa Entitlement Verification Online (VEVO) system to verify your work rights. To do this we need:

• a scan of the bio-data page of your passport (photo page)

Optimum will then use DIAC’s VEVO system to receive confirmation of your work rights. As a recruitment company, Optimum is legally obliged to conduct a work rights check for all candidates we represent and thanks you in advance for your assistance in this process.