Black Coal Mining Industry Investigation
Since August 2024, we’ve had a dedicated team investigating the wages of casual miners working under enterprise agreements in the black coal mining industry.
We anticipate publishing a report on the findings and outcomes of the investigation in the second half of 2026.
On this page:
- Why we investigated casual black coal mining wages
- Get our help with a workplace issue
- Report concerns about the industry anonymously
- Tools and resources
- Related information
Why we investigated casual black coal mining wages
We’ve been investigating the wages of casual black coal miners under enterprise agreements to:
- respond to allegations that there have been, and are, systematic underpayments in the industry
- form an independent assessment of the nature, type and extent of any underpayments
- inquire into the role and influence of labour hire providers in the industry
- assess the status of employees (casual and permanent)
- identify the drivers of any non-compliance in the industry
- address any non-compliance by taking compliance and enforcement action where we find workplace laws aren’t being followed.
Get our help with a workplace issue
If you have a general question about workplace entitlements or obligations in the black coal mining industry, it’s best to contact us.
We can answer questions about wages, entitlements or responsibilities under an award or enterprise agreement.
We can also help with trying to resolve a workplace problem if it’s outside the scope of our jurisdiction.
Report concerns about the industry anonymously
Prefer to stay anonymous but want to report an issue? Send us a tip-off.
Anyone can report their concerns about the black coal mining industry, or black coal mining industry practices, using our Anonymous report form. This could be for issues like pay and wages, workplace conditions or workplace problems.
