By Neena Bhandari
Sydney, 18.07.2008 (IANS): Fifty Indian workers have been found by Immigration officials to be working illegally in Australia since last July even as Immigration Minister Chris Evans Friday warned severe penalties would be imposed on people who hired workers without proper working visas.
“Rogue employers face fines of up to A$13,200 (US$12,834) and two years’ imprisonment while companies face fines of up to A$66,000 per illegal worker,” the immigration minister said.
The highest number of illegal workers was from Malaysia, 374, followed by China (145), Indonesia (89), Britain (67), Philippines (51), India (50), Vietnam (48), Thailand (44) South Korea (32) and Ireland (21).