Since the end of convict transportation in the first half of the 19th century, immigration has been crucial to the development of Australia's labour force. In the postwar period alone (up to 1981) immigration accounted for over half of the extra workers added to the labour force and today around a quarter of the labour force were born overseas, a high figure by OECD standards. This paper examines the interconnections between immigration law and the regulation of the labour market. It aims to identify those ways in which Australian national governments have regulated immigrant labour to meet perceived labour market demands, and the response of labour law and other areas of regulation to the issues arising from reliance on an immigrant labour force. We identify three broad areas of concerns. The first set of concerns lies in examining how immigration law and policy has been used for labour market ends. The second cluster of issues has regard to those various policies and programs that have operated to assist immigrant workers to adjust to the Australian labour market (i.e. income support for job search, placement services, labour market programs and the recognition of overseas skills). The third set of concerns consists of those more immediately identified with conventional labour law. These pertain to how immigrants are legally protected once they are in the labour force. We conclude by examining how the broad contours of the regulatory framework that has governed immigrant labour for much of the 20th century are currently under challenge.