Bharat Khanna worked more than 60 hours a week managing a 7-Eleven store outside Newcastle, while studying full-time at Macquarie University in Sydney.
In September last year, he told ABC, “I would call myself modern century slave where all my rights are gone. I was asked to work more than 40 hours, sometimes 50 hours, 55 hours and we had to work because we had no - if you say no, the next day, we are out of it. We will not find any other job.”
When he challenged the boss over his pay he was told to walk.
On Wednesday, Bharat was invited to share his story in Parliament House by federal Labor leader Bill Shorten.
"I would say that the image of Australia is at stake," Bharat said, warning the federal government there were lots of other people like him.
When he was planning on coming to this "beautiful country" and studying he heard he'd work 20 hours and be paid at the appropriate rate.
But after arriving, he struggled to find work and when he did he was paid $10-11 an hour.
Mr Shorten and his workplace relations spokesman Brendan O'Connor used Bharat's story - and another from a Queensland hospitality worker - to challenge the government over worker exploitation.
Their experiences revealed an "underbelly" which Mr Turnbull liked to pretend didn't exist.
"It is not an exciting time," Mr Shorten said, referring to the prime minister's description of modern Australia.
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Labor senator Doug Cameron on Tuesday introduced to parliament a private bill that aims to crackdown on unscrupulous employers. The bill increases civil penalties to $32,400 for individuals and $162,000 for corporations who fail to pay workers properly.
The federal government last year established a ministerial working group to look into protections for vulnerable foreign workers.
Employment Minister Michaelia Cash hit back labelling the "re-announcement" hypocritical.
When Mr Shorten was head of the Australian Workers Union, it entered into an agreement with Cleanevent which removed all penalty rates for low-paid cleaners without compensation, she said.
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