Immigration Department responds to MEAA about the Cricket World Cup

MEAA is calling on the Department of Immigration and Border Protection to revoke visas granted to foreign workers imported to broadcast the Cricket World Cup.

In a letter to MEAA the Department confirmed that checks were not carried out to ensure workers were imported using the correct visas. The Department’s decision to allow 200 broadcast media workers to enter the country under the 400 visa has led to hundreds of Australians missing out on jobs.

Mal Tulloch, director of Entertainment, Crew and Sport, says Broadcast Solutions and Star TV, the international companies tendered to carry out the broadcast, have clearly misled the Immigration Department and rorted the visa system.

“These disingenuous applications have resulted in hundreds of foreign workers entering the country unchecked and a potential serious risk to national security. Working on the local broadcast of the Cricket World Cup should have required them to apply for a category 420 visa. This was not done and instead they have taken Australian jobs under a false premise.”

Tulloch says the Cricket World Cup debacle, which has angered members of the broadcast community who rely on the work of special events, provides evidence of why proper checks and balances are required.

“We’ve seen hundreds of our skilled, talented members sidelined because Broadcast Solutions and Star TV have misled the Department. This is precisely why the industry needs to be consulted to protect local jobs, to ensure fair wages and conditions are not undercut and to guarantee workplace safety laws are complied with.”