Australia Sees Rise in Exit Trafficking Reports Among Migrant Women

Advocates in Australia report an increase in exit trafficking cases where perpetrators use the migration system to abuse partners on temporary visas. Rupali, who arrived in Canberra in 2023 on a temporary partner visa, described how her husband monitored her communications, confiscated financial documents, and demanded a large share of her salary.

She said her husband later withdrew his sponsorship for permanent residency while they were overseas and demanded more than $150,000 to reinstate it.

The Department of Home Affairs said it contacts applicants when a sponsor withdraws and that the Human Trafficking Visa Framework allows victims supported by the Australian Federal Police to return to Australia. Vanessa Burn of the Women's Legal Centre ACT said funding for services assisting migrant women has remained insufficient even as reports of family violence and exit trafficking rise.

Abbasova of Settle Services International said perpetrators often threaten to keep children who hold citizenship while sending mothers back to their home countries. Farah said her husband refused to provide documents for her permanent visa application and threatened physical harm if she did not surrender her income.

One woman described by Abbasova was supported by Legal Aid to return to Australia after her passport was taken overseas and later received permanent residency. Rupali and Farah are now applying for permanent visas under family violence provisions while their cases are assessed.