19 August 2026

The Fair Work Ombudsman has secured a total of $180,288 in court penalties against a former Queensland labour hire provider and its manager following “an attempt to fraudulently mislead and deceive” a Fair Work Inspector.

The Federal Circuit and Family Court has imposed a $150,240 penalty against Korserv Pty Ltd, which provided labour hire services to farm operators in Queensland, and a $30,048 penalty against the company’s former manager, Janghwan Choi.

The penalties were imposed after Korserv and Mr Choi admitted to breaching the Fair Work Act by providing false and misleading documents to a Fair Work Inspector in December 2023 and January 2024.

The records were provided to the Inspector when the Fair Work Ombudsman attempted to conduct an audit of compliance with workplace laws including the pay rates being provided to workers on a strawberry farm in Queensland’s Glass House Mountains region, as part of a proactive auditing campaign in 2023.

After the farm’s manager informed Fair Work Inspectors that it had engaged Korserv to provide labour hire services to the farm, the inspectors requested time and wage records from Korserv.

The falsified documents included pay slips, payment records purportedly from Korserv’s bank account, piecework agreements containing false signatures, and superannuation records each relating to 14 workers engaged at the strawberry farm in the Glass House Mountains region between July and September 2023.

The false information purported to show that Korserv had made a range of payments to the workers, when in fact it had never made any such payments.

Mr Choi subsequently admitted that Korserv had subcontracted two other companies who were responsible for paying the wages of workers at the farm and that he had sent money to those subcontractors to pay the workers.

The FWO understands that at least three of the 14 workers on the farm were visa holders.

Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth said knowingly providing false records to Fair Work Inspectors was serious conduct that warranted significant penalties.

“The conduct in this case was a blatant breach of workplace laws,” Ms Booth said.

“Anyone considering providing false or misleading documents to Fair Work Inspectors should be aware that we will take strong action to protect the integrity of our investigations.

“Employers need to be aware that taking action to try to rid the agriculture sector of this sort of behaviour is a priority for the Fair Work Ombudsman.”

Ms Booth said employers should also be aware that taking action to protect visa holders was a priority for the regulator.

“We treat breaches of workplace laws involving visa holder workers particularly seriously because they can be vulnerable, as they are often unaware of their rights, heavily reliant on their employers or reluctant to complain,” Ms Booth said.

“Any workers with concerns about their pay or entitlements should contact us for free advice and assistance. They can also contact their union if they are a member.”

Judge Gregory Egan described Korserv’s conduct as “an egregious flouting” of workplace laws.

Judge Egan found that “each category of contravention was an attempt to fraudulently mislead and deceive the Fair Work Inspector whose role it was to properly investigate possible contraventions of workplace law”.

His Honour said that due to the “the nature and scale of the duplicity demonstrated on the part of [Korserv and Mr Choi], penalties ought to be imposed which will generally deter any future conduct of a similar nature by others”.

Korserv is no longer operating.

Employers and employees can visit www.fairwork.gov.au or call the Fair Work Infoline on 13 13 94 for free advice and assistance about their rights and obligations in the workplace.

A free interpreter service is available on 13 14 50. Employees can also seek information from their employer or their union, if they are a member.

Employers can seek information from their employer association if they are a member, and also use the FWO’s pay calculator and Small Business Showcase.

The FWO has a Horticulture Showcase online, with resources for employers and employees in the sector. It includes information on pay and piece rates, and keeping the right records. The FWO also offers an Employer Advisory Service with tailored, written advice for employers.

The Fair Work Ombudsman filed 171 litigations against employers involving visa holder workers, and secured $39 million in penalties in cases that have included visa holder workers, in the eight financial years to June 2025.

Migrant workers have the same rights and protections under the Fair Work Act as other employees in Australia, and protections exist for their visa if they call out any breaches. Information for migrant workers, including on protections for visas, is available at our visa holders and migrants webpage.

Workplace issues can be reported online anonymously, including in languages other than English.