14 May 2026

The Fair Work Ombudsman has secured penalties against a United Petroleum operator for a fifth time, with a court imposing a total of $40,000 in penalties against the former operators, a wife and husband, of an outlet in Melbourne.

The Federal Circuit and Family Court has imposed a $28,000 penalty against Bharathi Karnati, a sole trader and the former commission agent of a United Petroleum outlet on Leakes Road in Truganina, in Melbourne’s western suburbs.

In addition, the court has imposed a $12,000 penalty against Ms Karnati’s husband Ravikanth Baddam, who managed the outlet.

The penalties were imposed in response to Ms Karnati underpaying an Indian international student she employed as a casual console operator, breaching record-keeping and pay slip laws and knowingly providing false or misleading pay slips to an inspector.

Fair Work Inspectors audited the United Petroleum outlet as part of an investigation.

Inspectors discovered that Ms Karnati had paid the worker unlawfully low flat rates of no more than $14 per hour, despite the worker being owed at least $28.38 per hour under the Vehicle Repair, Services and Retail Award 2020.

The worker was underpaid a total of $2,337 during his employment from December 2020 to January 2021.

During the investigation, Ms Karnati breached the Fair Work Act by knowingly providing an Inspector with false or misleading pay slips overstating the rates she had paid the worker.

Ms Karnati also failed to make and keep proper time-and-wages records and issue pay slips to the affected worker – and Mr Baddam admitted he was intentionally involved in these breaches.

The underpayment was rectified after the FWO investigated and the respondents subsequently admitted to the contraventions in court.

Acting Fair Work Ombudsman Rachel Volzke said blatantly undercutting minimum pay rates and knowingly providing false records to Fair Work Inspectors was serious conduct that warranted strong enforcement action.

“The conduct in this case was a blatant breaching of workplace laws and the penalties imposed should send a clear message about the consequences for such conduct,” Ms Volzke said.

“Our experienced inspectors will see through false pay slips and the underpayments they seek to hide.

“Employers need to be aware that taking action to protect migrant workers is an enduring priority for the Fair Work Ombudsman. We treat alleged breaches of workplace laws involving visa holder workers particularly seriously because we are aware they can be vulnerable, are often unaware of their rights, heavily reliant on their employers or reluctant to complain.

“Anybody with concerns about their entitlements should contact the Fair Work Ombudsman for free help. Visa holders can reach out to us knowing protections exist for their visa.”

Judge Amelia Edwards found that the matter involved deliberate and serious breaches impacting a vulnerable visa holder.

Judge Edwards noted the worker had been left with less than half his lawful entitlements and that not receiving regular pay slips made it difficult for him to apply for a rental home or make other financial applications.

“The false and misleading records contravention is especially serious as [Ms Karnati’s] conduct must be understood as a deliberate attempt to prevent the FWO from discovering the non-compliance with workplace laws and minimum conditions of employment,” Judge Edwards said.

Her Honour found there was a need to deter Ms Karnati, Mr Baddam and other employers from similar conduct in future.

“General deterrence is particularly important in the circumstances of this case where the contravening conduct involves the provision of false information and the creation of false documents,” Judge Edwards said.

The penalties against Ms Karnati and Mr Baddam are the fifth time the Fair Work Ombudsman has secured penalties in court against former operators of United Petroleum-branded outlets – with total penalties now exceeding $270,000.

Two matters were finalised in February 2025, with the Fair Work Ombudsman securing $179,221 in penalties in relation to underpayments of workers at two United Petroleum-branded outlets in Tasmania.

Navaneeth Gogikar, who formerly operated a United Petroleum outlet in Brisbane as a sole trader, was penalised $15,984 in August 2025.

In September 2025, $38,500 in penalties were imposed against Sai Enterprises Pty Ltd and Raman Monga, the operators of a United Petroleum-branded outlet in Adelaide, for a number of contraventions.

In 2025, the Fair Work Ombudsman also commenced legal action against Satarupa Patel, a sole trader and the former commission agent of a United Petroleum outlet in Melbourne’s south-east, alleging underpayment of a migrant worker. The case is ongoing.

The legal actions followed a FWO investigation into the United Petroleum network commenced in response to concerns about non-compliance. The investigation involved audits of 20 United Petroleum-branded outlets across Tasmania, Queensland, NSW, Victoria and South Australia.

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. 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.

NOTE: The Fair Work Ombudsman makes no allegations against the current operators of the United Petroleum outlet on Leakes Road in Truganina.