Immigration officials have swooped on a construction site in Wollongong, detaining two foreign workers who allegedly violated their visas.
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Inspectors from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship raided a construction site on Wollongong's Harbour St, questioning a number of workers and detaining two. They were taken to the Villawood Detention Centre.
The site will eventually become a hotel run by Stella Hospitality Group, who run Peppers Hotel chain.
An immigration spokesman said officers entered the site at 11am on Wednesday.
"Compliance officers were involved in an operation ... four people of interest were located during the operation, carried out with the co-operation of the site managers," he said.
"Two of these people were found to be unlawfully in Australia ... one person was counselled (and) inquiries are continuing with the other person."
The site has been the subject of intense scrutiny after the Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union accused subcontractor Jantom of underpaying 40 Chinese-Australian workers by about $216,000.
Jantom was engaged to complete plasterboard work. However, through a legal representative, it said it was not responsible for the underpayment because it had used a third party to hire the workers and complete the work.
The legal representative said at no time had Jantom employed illegal immigrants.
The CFMEU claims Jantom violated its contract with the construction company Parkview when it hired a third party to find workers, and ultimately is responsible for the workers' payments.
CFMEU secretary Andrew Ferguson said he welcomed the Department of Immigration's actions.
The site is run by development company Parkview. Construction manager Gary Cory said it was aiding the department in its inquiries.
