Woman exploiting Papua New Guineans charged

A woman who allegedly lured Papua New Guinea nationals to Australia with fake scholarships before exploiting them has been charged with debt bondage and other human trafficking offences.

The Australia Federal Police charged the woman – a dual Australian and Nigerian citizen who was based primarily in PNG – after she arrived at Brisbane Airport on a flight from Port Moresby yesterday.

According to the AFP website, the woman, whose name has been withheld, aged 56, appeared in Brisbane Magistrates Court yesterday afternoon, charged with 31 offences and was granted conditional bail to reappear before the same court on 19 September 2025.

All this followed, an investigation which started in July, 2022, when the AFP's Northern Command Human Trafficking Team received information from Queensland Police about a group of PNG nationals who had moved to Australia to study but were instead allegedly forced to work against their will on farms.

The woman allegedly submitted student visa applications on behalf of 15 nationals who, shortly before or after arrival, were forced to sign legal documents and agree to repay previously unmentioned costs for tuition, airfares, visa applications, insurance and legal fees, putting them in excessive debt.

She then allegedly forced them to work on Queensland farms and received wages on their behalf, which she withheld as repayments.