Expanded right to work checks regime

Implementation date: 1 October 2026

The working arrangements that are subject to the illegal working regime are expanded by the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025. The definition of an employer, with an obligation to prevent illegal working, is extended to cover an organisation engaging individuals:

• under a worker's contract;
• as an individual sub-contractor; and
• where the organisation is an online matching service that matches individuals who are service providers to potential clients or customers (broadly gig-economy workers).

The Act expands potential liability for an illegal working civil penalty beyond the direct employer to employers upstream in the chain of contracts.

The draft code of practice on preventing illegal working: Right to Work Scheme for employers, published on 30 June 2026, sets out how the extended right to work checks scheme will work.

The code sets out requirements for an employer to meet to establish a statutory excuse against liability where it is not in a direct contractual relationship with a worker. The prescribed requirements are:

• contractual terms and conditions (written statement);
• substitution controls; and
• identity verification systems and processes.

The code and the new right to work check regime come into force on 1 October 2026.