Too many layers of workplace compliance, says employer group

Mr Burdette was speaking at the annual Fair Farms conference, Melbourne.

He said approved employers fully supported strong assurance standards and values but a balanced program and level playing field was required.

"I don't think we have a balanced program or level playing field at the moment," Mr Burdette said.

"In terms of the PALM guidelines - and it's all about regulation - it is one of the most regulated visas in Australia."

He said under the scheme 95 per cent of authorised employers were compliant with current regulations - "and that's a significant statistic."

The scheme involves 10 participating countries, with nine in the Pacific along with Timor Leste.

It has just over 450 approved employers, with 38,250 workers largely in the horticulture, meat processing, accommodation and residential care sectors.

Most workers, 26 per cent, come from Vanuatu, with the next largest cohort from Tonga (15pc).

Victorian employers account for 17 per cent, or 6470 workers, of the national total.

Mr Burdette said the focus tended to be on those employers who were doing the wrong thing, not the ones who were compliant and how their workers had benefitted.

"That's were the imbalance comes in, everyone is putting their punches on those who are bad people, but those who are doing really well, where workers are extremely happy, are not recognised," he said.

"In terms of PALM, we have additional oversight, you have got Fair Work, you have labour hire companies and then you have all the other auditing bodies we have to comply with."

He said additional regulation was a huge cost and questioned its benefits.

"We need to look at how standards can be measured within the current accreditation and programs we have - all we are doing is adding layer, upon layer, upon layer of additional compliance," he said.

"What we do need is consolidation, streamlining and harmonisation of standards, because there are inconsistencies - that's where the system can help accredited employers who are doing the right thing."

He said the one "bugbear" was "dodgy operators.

"We are sitting ducks, we are the ones who are getting audited all the time and they are getting away with it - we need to start looking at how we tackle the illegal operators," Mr Burdette said.

"When are we going to start focusing on risk management and process improvement instead of what we are doing wrong?

"The solution is not higher standards, it is actually their consolidation and harmonisation."

Earlier, the conference was told modern slavery did exist in Australia.

Aus-Qual Corporate Services and Social Compliance manager Terry O'Brien told the conference there was "a tsunami" of compliance, regulations and standards coming.

While earlier decades saw basic compliance, such as health and safety standards, introduced, what was happening now was a very different wave of legislation.

"It is being driven by the community, that means the processors don't have control over it, the producers don't have control over it, even the retailers don't really have and control over it," Mr O'Brien said.

The key components were animal welfare, environmental issues and social compliance, he said.

It was driven by Europe, with new legislation being unveiled in Germany soon likely to be adopted by other EU countries.

"German directors, of German companies, can be prosecuted for misdeeds in other countries," he said.

'If, for example, there is a human rights violation in Thailand, for a German company in the supply chain, its directors can be prosecuted."

Key corporates were likely to take note of such legislation, as it was an international market, when it came to investment.

He said Aus-Qual had done 423 audits in the last 12 months, mainly turning up minor health and safety breaches.

"We have also seen 86 cases of wage theft," he said.

"They vary in quantum and size a lot of those come down to lack of education."

The Fair Work Ombudsman has found the Sunraysia region has topped its 'hot spot' list for non-compliant agricultural employees who underpay workers.

That was likely to be an issue, in the coming 12 months, along with working hours and psycho-social discrimination.