ETA work in Australia: why Malaysians offered fruit-picking trips risk a three-year exclusion
Tips · 2026-10-15 · 10 min read
No. An Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) is not a work visa, and Home Affairs says plainly that you can't work in Australia on an ETA or a Visitor visa. So when someone in Malaysia offers to sort out your ETA and flights for paid fruit picking, the Australian High Commission in Kuala Lumpur has a word for it: a scam. Working in breach of your visa conditions can lead to detention, removal and a three year exclusion period. Legal routes do exist, and this guide shows how to tell them apart from the offer in your chat app.
Why an ETA is not a work visa
The ETA looks like the cheapest, quickest door into Australia, which is exactly why scammers build their offers around it. The Australian High Commission in Malaysia says an ETA can only be applied for through the Australian ETA app, has no Visa Application Charge and costs an application service fee of AUD20.
That small fee buys a travel authority. It does not buy the right to take a job. Home Affairs repeats the point on its visa scams page: you can't work in Australia on an ETA or a Visitor visa.
The High Commission also says Australian visas are not for sale and can only be obtained through official channels. Home Affairs says Australia doesn't issue "work permits" or visa labels, so anyone offering to sell you one is running a scam.
How the fruit-picking offer is usually pitched
The High Commission's warning on visa and work scams is specific: facilitators in Malaysia who organise visas and flights to Australia for paid work such as fruit picking are running a scam. It may be advertised as kerja ladang Australia, a harvest trip or a short farm contract. The wording changes, but the shape stays the same: you fly in as a visitor and start work once you land.
Wisma Putra has described the same pattern in a travel advisory on job scam syndicates. It tells Malaysians to reject any offer with interviews only through messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Telegram or WeChat, a company with no verifiable physical address or official website, or instructions to travel on a tourist or transit visa with a promise that a work permit will be arranged later.
| What the offer says | What the official rule is |
|---|---|
| "Just apply for an ETA in the app, it costs AUD20." | The ETA is not a work visa; the fee is an application service fee, not permission to work. |
| "Your work permit will be sorted out after you land." | Australia doesn't issue work permits, and Wisma Putra says never to travel for work on a tourist visa. |
| "Pay the deposit now and the visa is settled." | Nobody can promise an Australian visa, and a large upfront payment is a scam sign. |
| "No tax file number needed, we pay cash." | Cash-only pay and being told no TFN is needed are both on the High Commission's list of work scam signs. |
| "Our agent handles the application, you don't need to see it." | Refusing to share the application in ImmiAccount is a visa scam sign; registered agents have a MARN. |
The High Commission's ways to spot a visa scam and its work scam signs add a few more: being told to set up a company and get an ABN, being given only a handwritten contract, and being offered less than the Australian minimum wage. Scamwatch adds unexpected contact on WhatsApp, Signal or Telegram, hiring with no interview, and a "recruitment fee" or training materials to pay for before you start.
What working on an ETA can cost you
The money you hand over is only the first loss. The High Commission warns that working in breach of visa conditions can lead to detention, removal from Australia and a three year exclusion period.
If the scheme also involved a false application, the risk grows. Home Affairs says people who engage in visa fraud through a scam agent risk visa refusal or cancellation and being banned from Australia for up to 10 years.
Paying an employer to sponsor you is a separate trap. Home Affairs says it is illegal to pay an employer for visa sponsorship, including through salary deductions, and that it can lead to visa refusal or cancellation, fines or imprisonment.
A TFN goes with work rights. The ATO's online TFN application for temporary visitors is for people who hold a valid work rights visa, so a job that "doesn't need one" is telling you something about the visa you were sold.
How to check an Australian job offer from Malaysia
Do these checks before you pay anyone or book a flight.
Already paid someone for a trip like this? Our step-by-step guide on what to do after a kerja luar negara scam covers the 997 hotline, Border Watch and Wisma Putra contacts.
- Ask for the visa subclass in writing. If the answer is an ETA, a Visitor visa, a tourist visa or "we sort it out later", stop there: none of these lets you work in Australia.
- Find the application in ImmiAccount. Home Affairs says ImmiAccount is the only official website for applying for an Australian visa, and a visa grant that cannot be found in VEVO is probably fake.
- Check the agent's MARN. Anyone giving immigration assistance with an Australian visa must be a registered migration agent, a legal practitioner or an exempt person, and registered agents appear on the Register of Migration Agents on the OMARA website.
- Verify the employer. Wisma Putra tells Malaysians to verify an employer through the ministry or the relevant Malaysian mission, and to hold a valid employment visa before leaving Malaysia.
- Check every email address. Messages claiming to come from Home Affairs whose address does not end in .gov.au are scams.
- Keep your passport with you. Scamwatch advises never sending your passport or identity documents to an employer or recruitment firm unless you are certain they are genuine.
- Report it. The High Commission asks people to report suspected visa or work scams anonymously to Border Watch at www.homeaffairs.gov.au/report. If you have already lost money, call the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) on 997, open 8 am to 8 pm every day, or your bank's hotline after 8 pm.
Legal ways to work in Australia or New Zealand
Farm work is not the problem; the visa is. These are the routes to compare against any offer.
Want the pay rules and the second-visa details too? Our guide to farm jobs in Australia for Malaysians compares every legal route side by side.
| Route | Who it is for | Points to check |
|---|---|---|
| Australia: Work and Holiday visa (subclass 462) | Malaysian passport holders aged 18 to 30 (inclusive), applying from outside Australia, without dependent children | A tertiary qualification or 2 years of undergraduate study, at least Functional English, the Good Conduct Certificate as the letter of support, usually about AUD5,000 for the stay; base charge AUD840.00 |
| Australia: Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482) | Skilled workers whose employer sponsors them for a role it cannot fill locally | At least 1 year of relevant experience in the last 5 years; you work only for the sponsor in the nominated occupation, for up to 4 years |
| New Zealand: Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) | People with a job offer from an accredited employer | Costs from NZD $1540; offers cannot be for planting, maintaining, harvesting or packing crops in horticulture or viticulture |
| New Zealand: Malaysia Working Holiday visa | Malaysian citizens aged 18 to 30 | Temporary jobs for up to 6 months, 1,150 places a year; shown as closed for 2026 when last checked, with applications invited next year |
The first Work and Holiday visa is the closest legal match to the farm-work trip the scammers sell. It lets you stay up to 12 months and do short-term work, and 3 months of specified work makes you eligible to apply for a second one. Our guide to what the Work and Holiday visa asks of Malaysian applicants walks through the papers, and the ringgit costs of working in Australia shows what to budget.
For a longer career move, start with an employer who will sponsor you: see our Skills in Demand (482) visa guide for Malaysians and the AEWV guide for working in New Zealand. Because an AEWV job offer cannot be for harvesting or packing crops, a New Zealand "fruit-picking AEWV" should raise the same alarm. If harvest work is what draws you, read what the new visa fast lane for Australian harvest jobs covers first.
Common mistakes with ETA job offers
- Reading the low fee as a green light. The AUD20 fee and the app make the ETA feel like a formality, but it carries no right to work.
- Believing the work permit comes later. Australia does not issue work permits; get a valid employment visa before you leave Malaysia.
- Paying for a place. Paying an employer for sponsorship is illegal in Australia, and INZ will decline an AEWV application if the applicant or their agent offered or promised money to the employer for a job offer.
- Trusting a chat-only agent. Someone with no MARN and no OMARA listing is not a legitimate migration agent, however friendly the messages are.
Frequently asked questions
Can I work in Australia on an ETA if the job only lasts a few weeks?
No. Home Affairs says you can't work in Australia on an Electronic Travel Authority or a Visitor visa, and the High Commission says an ETA is not a work visa. Before you start any job, however short, you need a visa that gives you work rights.
What can happen if I am found working on an ETA?
The Australian High Commission in Malaysia warns that working in breach of visa conditions can lead to detention, removal and a three year exclusion period. If a scam agent also lodged false information for you, Home Affairs says visa fraud can bring refusal or cancellation and a ban from Australia of up to 10 years.
Is every fruit-picking job in Australia a scam?
No. The farm work is not the problem; working on the wrong visa is. A Work and Holiday visa (subclass 462) allows short-term work, and 3 months of specified work can make you eligible for a second one. The warning is about facilitators selling ETA trips for paid work.
How do I know if the Australian visa an agent shows me is real?
Ask to see the application in ImmiAccount, the only official website for applying for an Australian visa, and check the grant in VEVO. Home Affairs says a grant that cannot be found in VEVO is probably fake, and an agent who will not share the application is showing a scam sign.
Where do I report an ETA work scam from Malaysia?
Report suspected visa or work scams anonymously to Australia's Border Watch at www.homeaffairs.gov.au/report. If you have lost money in an online scam, PDRM says to call the National Scam Response Centre on 997 between 8 am and 8 pm, and your bank's hotline after that.
Key takeaways
- An ETA is not a work visa, and you can't work in Australia on an ETA or a Visitor visa.
- The Australian High Commission says facilitators in Malaysia selling visas and flights for fruit picking are running a scam.
- Working in breach of visa conditions can lead to detention, removal and a three year exclusion period.
- Check the visa subclass, ImmiAccount, VEVO and the agent's MARN before you pay anything.
- For legal farm or seasonal work, compare the Work and Holiday visa (subclass 462); for a career move, look for employer sponsorship.
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