Media releases

Fair Work Inspectors conducted surprise audits of restaurants, bars and cafes in Glebe Point Road, Sydney, last week to check businesses are complying with workplace laws.

Persistent underpayment allegations from workers are among the prompts for a new Fair Work Ombudsman campaign in Victoria’s Shepparton region.

A machine operator at Ingleburn, south west of Sydney, has been reimbursed $19,000 following intervention by the Fair Work Ombudsman.

Another 7-Eleven outlet in Brisbane is facing Court for allegedly short-changing overseas workers thousands of dollars and creating false records to try to cover it up.

A rogue Brisbane businessman has been penalised a record $126,540 and ordered to back-pay migrant workers almost $60,000 in a result that sends a warning that individuals can be held personally liable for exploitation of workers.

A retail worker at Colac in Victoria’s south-west region has been back-paid $13,800 following intervention by the Fair Work Ombudsman.

Penalties totalling $124,000 against a fundraising company and its director for underpaying a backpacker working as charity-collector in Sydney less than $8000 send a message about the seriousness of sham contracting, according to the Fair Work Ombudsman.

The Fair Work Ombudsman has recovered almost $9000 for a Sri Lankan asylum seeker who was underpaid over a period of just three months at a furniture removalist business in Melbourne.

A major Australian hotel chain has back-paid 1500 of its cleaners a total of $1.9 million after underpaying them as a result of misclassifying them as independent contractors.

A restaurant operator in north-west Tasmania has agreed to reimburse three employees almost $15,000 after failing to pay them during a downturn in business.