Most Recent
University of Melbourne to backpay $72M to underpaid staff
The University of Melbourne will backpay $72 million to 25,000 academics who were paid on a ‘words-per-hour’ or ‘time-per-student’ basis, a practice it now acknowledges was unlawful.
Bubble tea chain Chatime fined for underpaying staff
Bubble tea chain Chatime Australia and its managing director have been fined $132,480 for underpaying employees in its Melbourne and Sydney stores by more than $160,000.
Celebrity chef in hot water over alleged underpayments
The company and chef behind the former French Potts Point fine dining restaurant Metisse have been taken to court for allegedly underpaying two French employees. 
Sushi Bay cops $15M penalty for ‘shameless’ bid to conceal underpayments
Now-defunct sushi chain Sushi Bay has been slapped with penalties totalling more than $15 million, with a court calling its long history of staff underpayments “calculated” and “audacious”.
Wellness firm Doll House cops penalty for sham contracting
Bondi wellness research company Doll House has copped a $197,000 penalty for terminating three disabled employees and re-engaging them as independent contractors in a 'sham' contracting arrangement.
Government backs FWC plan to put CFMEU construction division into administration
Employment Minister Tony Burke says he will support the Fair Work Commission's plan to appoint an independent administrator to the construction division of the CFMEU and flagged an AFP investigation into recent allegations the union has been infiltrated by criminal figures. 
Car dealership Eagers backpays $16M to short-changed staff
Australia’s largest car dealership Eagers Automotive has backpaid 13,000 staff more than $16 million after the Fair Work Ombudsman found that five of its subsidiaries underpaid employees. 
In first, cafe franchisor 85 Degrees hit with $1.44M penalty for franchisee’s underpayments
A judge has ordered Sydney coffee shop chain 85 Degrees to pay a $1.44 million penalty for underpayments by its franchisees, saying it cannot be seen as acceptable for franchisors to “turn a blind eye” to contraventions by franchisees. 
Massage parlour that threatened to kill underpaid workers’ families hit with $1M penalty
A Canberra massage parlour that systematically underpaid, intimidated and exploited migrant workers, including by threatening to kill their family members if they complained, has been hit with a $1 million penalty. 
Judge worries about perception that FWO treated CFMEU ‘more equal than others’
A judge has expressed concern that a "bizarre" last-minute settlement in a long-running case against the CFMEU could damage the public perception of the FWO as a model litigant, saying it could appear that the ombudsman treated some perpetrators as “more equal” than others.