2017-18 Annual Report
The Fair Work Ombudsman’s Annual Report for 2017-18 has been tabled in Parliament, highlighting the wide range of services and resources the regulator offers to employers and employees.
In the past financial year, the FWO helped workers and businesses resolve more than 28,000 workplace disputes, a five per cent increase on the previous year.
The agency assisted over 376,000 callers and there was a record 16.7 million visits to www.fairwork.gov.au.
Calculations on the Pay and Conditions Tool increased by 10 per cent in 2017-18, and anonymous reports increased by 44 per cent to over 15,000.
Over the last financial year, Fair Work Inspectors completed more than 4,500 workplace audits and recovered close to $30 million for workers.
There was also a 49 per cent increase in penalties handed down by the courts in 2017-18 to $7.2 million, including the highest penalty under the Fair Work Act of $660,020 in a matter involving a migrant worker.
With a focus on making workplace information more accessible to migrant workers, the Fair Work Ombudsman expanded its in-language resources in 2017-18.
Launched in July 2017, the FWO received almost 1,300 reports in languages other than English via the in-language Anonymous Report tool.
The website translator has been used to translate more than 130,000 pages of workplace information since its launch in February 2018. In-language resources were accessed more than 230,000 times.
In April 2018, the Small Business Showcase was launched to help small businesses check their obligations, receiving nearly 50,000 views.
“The Fair Work Ombudsman has designed tailored tools so that the broadest possible range of workers and businesses can assess information about their workplace rights and obligations,” Fair Work Ombudsman Sandra Parker said.
“Our services and resources play a key role in building a culture of compliance in Australian workplaces. I look forward to continuing our important work educating employers and employees, protecting vulnerable workers, and improving overall workplace compliance over the next year,” Ms Parker said.
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Media inquiries:
Mira Millane, Media Adviser
Mobile: 0439 835 855
mira.millane@fwo.gov.au
