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Mildura is once again in the spotlight with reports surfacing on unfair and illegal working conditions by an operator in the area. There are also allegations that include sexual harrasment of staff.
 

Ombudsman Receives Complaints


 
The Fair Work Ombudsman received several complaints about a Mildura operator just before Christmas, including allegations of sexual harassment.
A director with the ombudsman’s office, Craig Bildstein, said “allegations had also been made that the man had crammed dozens of workers into one home and that up to 12 were residing in the garage”
 

Operator Ripping Off Backpackers


 
Mr Bildstein went on to say “The suggestion’s been put to us that backpackers are being charged up to $150 a week, with reportedly up to 44 people in the house and garage”.
Reports are also surfacing that the man charged tennants a $450 fee to secure employment. The list goes on with allegations of bullying and sexually harassment.
Mr Bildstein said it was not the first time the Fair Work Ombudsman had received complaints about the operator.
 

Australian Workers Union


 
According to ABC news the Australian Workers Union (AWU) is concerned exploitation of foreign workers is rife in the fruit picking industry.
 
Branch secretary Ben Davis said”This is hardly the only complaint that I suspect the Fair Work Ombudsman has had in recent times.”
 

Backpacker Jobs


Backpackers are often targeted by suspect operators in Australia. Whether it means unfair working conditions, illegal pay rates, not paying superannuation, illegal accommodation conditions. We are not saying all Australian employers do this, this is far from the case, almost all play by the rules but the important thing is to know your rights and know where you stand.

Making sure you get your voice heard, so if you think your backpacker job / living conditions are unfair don’t be scared to speak up.
 

Hear Others Stories


 
Below are emails sent into us after initially publishing this article. Read first hand what has happened in Muldura.
 
 

Me and my boyfriend went to dons and stayed in a carvan of his for 150 a week but were at the garage he has a lot of others staying in. He did not pay us for what we worked when we left and we witnessed him say inappropiate sexual things to all the female workers. He was verabally abusive to all the workers and made everyone’s lives hell.

 
 

Hello, me and my 4 friends were recently scammed at dons backpackers, We arrived at dons on the 4th of jan after replying to an ad on backpacker job board. We contacted them through an email address bethanyclare@hotmail.com and were told that ‘Thomas’ would be picking us up from the airport. We were also told that it was a privately owned farm, so we had no idea it would be ‘Dons’ backpackers but we hadn’t heard anything about him anyway. We paid all the upfront costs but left just 3 days later after being treated poorly and made to feel uncomfortable and inferior. We lost a total of $700 each including our flight to mildura from Sydney

 
 

Hello, read the report on the Mildura scam, and me and my boyfriend have actually stayed here. It was beginning of July 2014 that we flew there from Brisbane spending over $800 on the flights. We were told there would be couples accommodation and picking citrus fruit at $22/hr. We weren’t even shown the accommodation before Don (Serdar Donmez) took us to a cash machine to withdraw $900 ($450 each) for rent and bond. We were taken to the house where over 30 people were living, and shown to our room, the garage. |

We had no money left and rent was $150 each a week. We were pulling vines, not citrus picking, it was hard work, and painful on the hands. From 8am-6pm we earnt max of $30, working hard and barely stopping for a break. Another couple there said theyd been working there for two weeks and not yet been paid. if this was the case, we wouldnt be able to afford rent as we had nothing. It was the middle of winter and no heating was in the garage it was freezing.

We left after three days and never got our bond back or been paid for what we had worked. My mum (in England) was appalled by what had happened and paid us to go back to the city to start our savings from scratch again.

Read the Full Story, My Mildura Nightmare.
 
 

Hi, I don’t want to give my real name so I will say George. Firstly my advice is stay away from any add on gumtree saying mildura. When I first saw the add I had no idea it was Dons and what he was like. He has no website, no advertising, no nothing, he gets other backpackers to post adds for 20 dollars.
Now when you arrive, straight to an atm an signing a document saying you are paying a job fee an not rent. If you refuse to sign he will just dump you in middle of no ware (i was unfortunate to see this happen on one occasion).
There was no order to anything.in the 5 weeks I was there I saw thousands and thousands of backpackers pay go straight into his pocket. I saw this as I suppose you could say I was a “supervisor” when I was there an when people left,they left bank details to have pay deposited but it never happened. When I left I was owed about 250 in wages an 150 bond but never got it.
Now if you are thinking why I stayed for 5 week, I did it as me an 7 others were all working on the same farm, I made the effort to know the farmer and his family so when we had finished his farm of vine pulling I got everyone’s forms signed for the 5 weeks work we did (Don doesn’t get anyone’s form signed). After this there was no guarantee I would be able to do same again so we all left while we could.
After we had gone, he went crazy after finding out that I had got people forms done an taken care of things behind his back an after the threats I got from him whilst I was in mildura, safe to say I won’t be visiting that place again.
Finally, the farmers pay Don in cash. Then we got paid what we was owed in cash, we then played Don his weekly “job fee”in cash. At no point were any receipts issued. Its all under the table cash pay an I guarantee there are 10’s of thousands of dollars every year that the tax man knows nothing about just from the stories he told me about the strippers, casino etc he sees in Melbourne every other weekend.
Overall I’m not bothered about the 400 dollars he stole from me as I was in a position to be able to get myself an 7 others the days they worked signed off as that was the main thing to us but my word of advice, do your regional work anywhere but mildura, just don’t take the risk, it’s not worth it.

I was at Don’s backpackers during 8 days, he’s a contractor in Mildura, Victoria. I found an ad on Facebook about this job (you can also find the ad on Gumtree but not with his name). It seemed interesting, the job was supposed to be oranges picking, with a good pay and the possibility to get the second visa (and he even signs your days off). But when i arrived in Mildura, Don picked me up and asked me to pay 450 dollars, 300 dollars for “fees” and 150 dollars of deposit. My experience at Don’s hadn’t been good at all, he tells to girls a lot of sexual allusions, proposed us to have sex with him in exchange of a free-accomodation or a good job.

I didn’t like that, but in the same time I not really had the choice, i was already in his van, going to the “share house” (12 backpackers lived in the garage) and he said me that he had many jobs for me. So i gave him my money and he dropped me at my new house. A house with 30 persons, 2 bathrooms and 2 toilets. When i arrived in thehouse, many people said me that it was a scam because nobody worked, just 2 or 3 persons each day and even if you work it’s not interesting because the pay was not good (around 40 dollars for 8 hours of work).

And it was true, during 8 days, I worked just 4 hours no more. During all this time, Don put a lot of pressure in the house, blackmailing, moral and sexual harrassment. He threatened people who want their second visa to not give them if they do anything he dislikes. I’ve seen a lot of people kicked out and lose their money during the period when i was in the house, and at the end, i’ve been fired as well, for no reason without getting my deposit back.

 

When I first saw the add I had no idea it was Dons and what he was like. He has no website, no advertising, no nothing, he gets other backpackers to post adds for 20 dollars.
Now when you arrive, straight to an atm an signing a document saying you are paying a job fee an not rent. If you refuse to sign he will just dump you in middle of no ware (i was unfortunate to see this happen on one occasion).
There was no order to anything.in the 5 weeks I was there I saw thousands and thousands of backpackers pay go straight into his pocket. I saw this as I suppose you could say I was a “supervisor” when I was there an when people left,they left bank details to have pay deposited but it never happened. When I left I was owed about 250 in wages an 150 bond but never got it.

 

Hi, I was staying at “Don’s Backpackers” for 2 weeks back in Sept. 2014. I too was a victim of his sexual harassment and exploitation. When I protested to the way he treated me and let others know what he was doing he kicked me out with no pay and no return of my deposit.

 

Makes me so sick! How can he keep getting away with this. Over a year now since we’ve been there! We’ve been a victim of ‘the don’ along with 40+ others who were in the same boat round the same time! $450 each up front for rent..promised to get our deposit back.. Still waiting!! Vine picking(among other nasty jobs) in 35 degrees, waiting weeks to get paid!! living in a caravan with little or no aircon! And I was only there for 2 weeks!! He needs to stop!!! Please share it guys, I don’t know if it will do any difference , but maybe make people aware

 

Have you been scammed?


 
If you have been scammed you should report the crime to your local police office and also get in contact with Fair Work Australia. You should also make other people aware of the situation by posting the information in our fruit picking scam forum.
 
If you think you are being treated unfairly or your operator is running illegal accomoation or work conditions please don’t hesitate to contact the fair work ombudsman. You can also contact us with your situation so we can post on our Facebook page or newsletter to see if others are affected.
 

Have you been affected recently


 
If you were living in this house or know of anybody living here please contact the fair work ombudsman or contact us to get the ball rolling. By speaking up you will save us others from being subjected to these conditions when looking for a backpacker job. Please share this with any friends that are looking for fruit picking work or have been to Mildura recently.
 
 
If you’re looking for a fruit picking job don’t hesitate to check the job board. It’s free and easy to join.
 
 
You may also like,
My Mildura Nightmare
 
Scam Guide
 
Wicked Campers, too Wicked?
 
Backpackers Leave Their Money for Australian Government
 
Sydney: A Must See View
 

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Dimitri /

G'day Guys, My name is Dimi, I'm one of the admins/starters of Fruitpickingjobs.com.au . Freddie and I started this community to help working holiday makers and harvest workers find jobs in an easy and transparent manner. We're not just here to help you finding jobs, anything related to your working holiday down under, we will help try find a way to make it easier for you too achieve. Getting your tax done, deals, travel spots... you name it. If you ever have any questions or feedback please don't hesitate to ask. We're always looking for ways to improve the site and help meet our members needs and build a stronger community. Hope you're doing well and best of luck. Cheers Dimi

3 Responses to “Suspect Operator Targets Backpackers in Mildura”

  1. Richard Hoare

    I was at dons backpackers for two weeks in sept 2014…similar story to others took to atm me and friend paid $450 each…earnt about $20 for 4 days hard work…staying in rundown caravan conditions appaling..mice ants cockroaches….bullying and harrassment by this tyrant who labels himself a ‘proud australian’ people like him are a stain on the mainly welcoming and friendly australian people….he unceremoniously threw me and my friend out refusing to give us a reason or any depoisit..giving us15 minutes to get out suggesting violence would follow, obviously leaving us in a desperate situation…he used some collaborating backpackers to shepherd usout, the same ones he uses to lure people there with adds on gumtree and lies of decent work, those people should be ashamed and have visas revoked to be honest, they know what they are getting people into

    Reply
  2. Kel

    Anyone have Dons contact details? I will sort the prick out. Im a kiwi and aussie resident. Ive already had to sort out one other Mildura contractor and a Queensland one. The Queensland contractor is now serving 14 yrs in prison after getting caught trying to leave the country! Text details to ph: (04) 3588-6049.

    Reply
  3. Andrew

    I stayed one night at “Don’s Backpackers” along with 3 other backpackers and when we found the current affairs news investigation online, we confronted him about it, but he claimed “someone was out to get him”, yet he refused to give us our money back (a grand total of &,1,600); Now if he was a legitimite businessman, why would he have a problem returning money for a service never performed. HE’S AN ABSOLUTE CON ARTIST.

    Reply

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