Carnival passes test on worker mistreatment – but the fight with unions is casting a shadow over Australia’s cruise industry

• Carnival’s fight with the unions is about a lot more than pay and conditions.
• The Maritime Union of Australia is involved in a struggle to unionise ships and bolster membership.
• If they win, it will cast a huge shadow over the future of Australia’s cruise industry.

Catherine King, Federal Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, has a lot on her plate at the moment, what with airport traffic controllers in short supply and near misses on Sydney’s tarmac.

So she might have been hoping that a review of the Coastal Shipping Act would be a low key issue. The Maritime Union of Australia has other ideas.

In a move that has moved this obscure piece of maritime legislation to the front of Ms Kings mind, they have taken on the world’s biggest cruise company in a fight which could seriously damage Australia’s standing as the world’s fourth biggest market for cruise holidays.

The Maritime Union of Australia claims workers aboard Carnival ships are being mistreated and underpaid. And they have recruited a gang of politicians and union activists – as well as social media – to emabrrass Carnival into allowing union recruiters onto its ships.

Last week, they produced a beauty salon worker to front its campaign. She claimed during her time on ships she was served left-over food, was too scarred to drink the water and was underpaid.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority doesn’t support the claims. Charged with ensuring seafarers’ safety, AMSA has confirmed to Cruise Passenger that it has inspected all three Carnival cruise ships that sail year-round in Australia and found ‘no deficiencies’ in its inspections.

And while it says it is continuing its surveillance, the news won’t aid the union case.

AMSA told Cruise Passenger: “Following the Maritime Union of Australia’s allegation on 14 July 2026 that Carnival are denying seafarers their right to collective bargaining, AMSA inspected Carnival Encounter in Brisbane and identified no deficiencies. 

“On 30 July 2026, AMSA inspected Carnival Adventure in Sydney and found no evidence to substantiate potential Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) non-compliances, with no deficiencies identified. On 31 July 2026, AMSA inspected Carnival Splendor in Sydney and found no evidence to substantiate potential MLC non-compliances, with no deficiencies identified.

“AMSA continues to review the complaint and will advise the MUA of the outcome once its assessment is complete.”

AMSA’s statement comes in stark contrast to the claims made by the MUA, ABC and now calls from Australia’s anti-slavery commissioner for renewed protections.

So far, two senators and the commissioner have take up the cudgels on behalf of the crews.

Why the cruise industry is in danger 

How cruise ships are able to operate in Australia is through legislation called the Coastal Trading Act, that provides foreign flagged ships an exemption from abiding to Australian labour laws. All countries that receive cruise ship visitors have similar laws in place, and most cruise ship workers on major lines generally come from Africa, Asia and Latin America. These jobs are often highly sought after due to offering higher wages than those offered for workers locally, and having a higher portion of take home pay due to food and accommodation being provided.

The Coastal Trading Act is reviewed and renewed in sporadic periods, sometimes annually and sometimes for a number of years, but the act will be reviewed before December this year. Transport Minister Catherine King will be responsible for its renewal.

It isn’t clear exactly how and if cruise lines could operate in Australia without this legislation.

If their workers were to be paid Australian rates, they would likely also need to be at least temporary residents with full working and living rights in Australia, and given that no other countries enforce this, cruise lines would almost certainly divert their ships to other destinations where they abide by International Maritime Laws, rather than local laws. 

This would cripple a $7 billion dollar industry which supports 22,000 jobs for Australians.

It is also unclear how this would affect other types of shipping, as the Coastal Trading Act applies to cargo vessels, as well as passenger vessels. 

If the act is not renewed, it is likely only small, luxury ships that could potentially pay the costs would be able to operate.

Larger lines that provide affordable holidays for millions of Australians would likely leave our shores, operating fly-cruise holidays from friendlier countries like Singapore.

What are the allegations?

The allegations against Carnival initially came from the Maritime Union of Australia, and have received more attention after a report from ABC and comments from various Australian politicians. 

They have also been picked up overseas – and more importantly, in the US, home of the real decision-makers in cruise.

Most of the discourse has been aimed at the low pay and long hours that cruise ship workers are given, because they do not meet Australian standards. The union claims workers are paid less than $3 an hour.

However, even the pay and hours mentioned in the ABC report align with the Maritime Labour Convention.

The issue is more complex than most because the crews maintain the pay is better than they could earn at home. Because they are accommodated and fed, they can actually save enough to send money back to their relatives.

Other allegations include being served food from the passengers’ buffet, medical neglect and poor living conditions. None of these has been proved.

The only crew member to be named as complaining is Queen Onuoha, an Instagram influencer who identifies as an MUA activist in her Instagram Bio.

Queen Onuoha, originally from Nigeria, worked as a beauty specialist for two seasons aboard the Pacific Adventure and Pacific Encounter.

She has travelled to Canberra where she spoke with Senator David Pocock, and he raised the issue in parliament. 

In the social media posts put out by politicians and the MUA, many anonymous workers have claimed they worked for Carnival or other cruise lines and were underpaid. But all said they enjoyed their time at sea.

No active crew members have spoken out.

Cruise lines in Australia abide by the International Maritime Convention

Carnival Cruise Line, like other international cruise lines, abides by the Maritime Labour Convention, which is ratified by Australia and was created by the International Labour Organisation, who are a part of the United Nations. This agreement sets out payment conditions and working hours, as well as a number of other acceptable standards across accommodation, catering and more.  

AMSA’s inspections were specifically checking for any non-compliance with the standards of this convention, and as mentioned, they report no deficiencies were found across three separate inspections.