Anti-Slavery Commissioner Urges Visa Reform After Inquest Into Jerwin Royupa’s Death

Introduction
Australia’s first Anti-Slavery Commissioner has called for urgent reform of a federal visa program, warning it is driving vulnerability to forced labour and modern slavery. The intervention follows a coronial inquest into the death of Jerwin Royupa, a 21-year-old Filipino worker who died just weeks after arriving in Australia under a training visa.

Concerns Over the Training Visa Program
Former Labor senator Chris Evans, appointed Australia’s Anti-Slavery Commissioner in 2024, told 7.30 that the subclass 407 training visa was a serious concern.

The visa allows skilled workers to come to Australia for structured workplace training, but does not require visa holders to be paid. Evans said the program creates conditions that leave workers highly vulnerable to exploitation.

“The visa is supposed to be about training, but having someone on a one or two-year visa where they do not get paid at all, and where they are living in accommodation provided by the employer, often in remote locations, just screams vulnerability,” he said.

Jerwin Royupa’s Case
Jerwin Royupa was granted a subclass 407 visa in early 2019 to undertake training work at a winery in New South Wales.

Five weeks later, on March 15, 2019, he was dead.

In January this year, a NSW deputy coroner found Jerwin had been “exploited” by his sponsor and exposed to “potentially criminal” conduct. The inquest heard he was working up to 60 hours a week in excessive heat performing manual labour, without receiving the training or allowance promised when his visa was arranged.

The coroner also found Jerwin did not have access to his passport and had become fearful of his sponsor, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

Findings of the Inquest
Deputy Coroner Rebecca Hosking found that on March 14, 2019, Jerwin either jumped or voluntarily fell from a moving vehicle driven by his sponsor, referred to in court as Operator One.

The sponsor’s conduct after the incident was described as deplorable. Evidence showed he did not immediately call an ambulance, made disparaging comments while Jerwin was unconscious, and left the scene after being told not to.

Jerwin died the following day from injuries sustained in the incident. The coronial brief has since been referred to the Australian Federal Police for review.

Call for Reform
Following the inquest, Evans said he had written to Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, urging changes to the way the training visa is administered.

“We need changes to the way the visa is run, the rules around it, and the way the department applies due diligence and care,” Evans said.
“That has not been happening up until now.”

He warned that demand for the subclass 407 visa had increased since Jerwin’s death, despite the risks remaining unaddressed.

Government Response
The Department of Home Affairs said it was urgently considering the coroner’s findings and recommendations, describing Jerwin’s death as a “tragic loss of life”.

The department said it was working on regulatory changes to strengthen assessment of visa sponsors and proposed training activities, with reforms expected in the first half of the year.

It also noted that around 45 per cent of training visa applications in the current financial year had been refused — up from 12 per cent in 2018–19 — indicating increased scrutiny.

Family’s Fight for Justice
For Jerwin’s family, the inquest marked a critical step in a seven-year search for answers.

His sister Jessa Royupa said her brother travelled to Australia hoping to gain skills and support his parents.

“It’s very painful what happened to him,” she said.
“The only thing keeping me going is that I promised him justice.”

Conclusion
The case has reignited debate about Australia’s migration and training visa systems, with the Anti-Slavery Commissioner warning that without reform, vulnerable workers will continue to face exploitation. As the government considers changes, Jerwin Royupa’s death stands as a stark reminder of the human cost of regulatory gaps.