3 June 2026

The Fair Work Ombudsman has secured a $35,308 penalty and a personal compensation order of almost $150,000 against an IT services company operator for his involvement in his company deliberately underpaying 16 workers.

The Federal Circuit and Family Court has imposed the penalty against David Mark Blumentals, who was the sole director and shareholder of D365.Group Pty Ltd, which he placed into liquidation in 2023.

The penalty was imposed in response to Mr Blumentals’ involvement in D365.Group Pty Ltd underpaying 16 workers a total of $148,812 between October 2021 and December 2022.

In addition to the penalty, the court has ordered Mr Blumentals to personally make compensation payments to rectify the underpayments in full, plus interest.

The underpaid workers were IT consultants who were based in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Seven were visa holders.

Mr Blumentals directly managed D365.Group Pty Ltd’s day-to-day operations, including being responsible for human resources and payroll functions.

D365.Group Pty Ltd was in the business of modifying, selling, deploying and providing services to clients in relation to Microsoft enterprise software products, including Dynamics 365 (a customer relationship management program) and Power BI (a reporting tool).

All 16 workers were not paid their accrued annual leave entitlements at the end of their employment and 12 were not paid their wages in full for the final weeks of work they performed. One was also underpaid payment-in-lieu-of-notice-of-termination entitlements.

The entitlements were owed under the Fair Work Act, including entitlements under the National Employment Standards.

Individual underpayments range from $4,581 to $23,749.

Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth said business operators need to be aware that they can be pursued in court for penalties and compensation orders, even in circumstances where their company has been wound up.

“There is a strong public interest in us taking enforcement action to ensure individuals, while not the legal employer, are held to account for their involvement in significant, deliberate employee underpayments,” Ms Booth said.

“Whether against directors, owners or any other individual accessory, we will continue to take court actions to protect workers and deter this type of unacceptable conduct.

“The conduct in this case is a blatant flouting of workplace laws and the penalty and back-pay orders imposed send a clear message about the consequences for such breaches.

“Anybody with concerns about their entitlements should contact the Fair Work Ombudsman for free assistance.”

Mr Blumentals was involved in underpaying the 16 workers’ annual leave and wage entitlements despite a 2019 court ruling that a company he controlled had underpaid a worker $9,604 as a result of underpayment of the same entitlements.

Judge Gillian Eldershaw found that Mr Blumentals’ non-compliance in the current matter was deliberate, and that he had displayed no contrition or effort to rectify the underpayments across the years since, instead making baseless claims of dishonest dealings and wrongdoing against the affected workers.

“[Mr Blumentals], as the sole director of the Company when the 2019 Orders were made, knew that his conduct which is the subject of the current proceedings contravened the [Fair Work] Act,” Judge Eldershaw said.

Her Honour found there was a need to deter Mr Blumentals from underpaying workers he had engaged through new companies he had established.

“If [Mr Blumentals] pays such little heed to his obligations relating to past employees, there is no reason to think that he would comply with his obligations to the current employees unless he is strongly deterred from such conduct,” Judge Eldershaw said.

Judge Eldershaw also noted the contraventions had resulted in Mr Blumentals enjoying “a commercial advantage relative to other employers in the same industry”.

“This has served as a de facto punishment to those employers who have complied with their obligations. I agree that the penalty must be set at a level that sends a clear message to the public that such conduct will not be tolerated.”

Employers and employees can visit www.fairwork.gov.au or call the Fair Work Infoline on 13 13 94 for free advice and assistance. An interpreter service is available on 13 14 50. Employees can also seek information from their employer and their union, if they are a union member.

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.

The FWO has targeted resources for visa holder workers – who have the same workplace rights as other workers, and have protections for their visas when they speak out.

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.