Latest news with #AnnaBooth
ABC News
3 days ago
- Business
- ABC News
Fair Work non-compliance rife among farm labour providers in Adelaide Hills and Riverland
A Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) report into horticulture compliance has found several South Australian labour hire providers had not paid workers superannuation and were allegedly operating without a licence. The report, released last week, details investigations in 15 "high-risk" Australian regions where non-compliance was reported to the FWO. From December 2021 to April 2024, the FWO inspected 360 sites across the nation, issuing $760,405 in fines to employers who failed to meet pay slip and record-keeping obligations. Properties were inspected in South Australia's Adelaide Hills and Riverland regions. Investigators found 92 per cent of the audited labour hire providers in SA were non-compliant, with strawberry and citrus producers having some of the highest non-compliance rates in the state. According to the FWO, workers interviewed at a South Australian strawberry farm told inspectors they were paid in cash and did not receive pay slips. The employer was a labour hire firm that "didn't provide any employee records to the FWO" and was issued with multiple infringement notices amounting to more than $12,500. Speaking with Narelle Graham on ABC SA Regional Drive, Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth said it was common for labour hire providers to not supply wage records or pay slips and to be uncontactable. "Labour hire is, unfortunately, notorious for the kind of breaches that we found," she said. The investigation also uncovered 10 labour hire providers operating at one South Australian strawberry farm. Of those, three refused to engage with the FWO when it asked for records. Workers, the report says, were paid between $19 and $25 per hour in cash. Six infringement notices totalling $28,860 were issued to five labour hire providers operating at the property. The FWO also made unannounced site inspections in SA involving a network of labour hire businesses suspected of illegal phoenix activity. According to AUSTRAC, illegal phoenix activity occurs when a company liquidates its operation to "avoid paying its creditors, taxes and other regulatory payments", only to later reappear as a newly created company with the same directors. Workers and managers in the Adelaide and Riverland region had accused "various enterprises" of failing to meet taxation obligations and not paying superannuation on behalf of employees. The FWO report says it was also tipped off about three suspected phoenix labour hire providers in the state's Riverland region operating without a licence. Citrus Australia chief executive Nathan Hancock said illegal phoenix activity had been occurring "for a long time". "I think it's wrong and we need to get it out of our industry," he said. Mr Hancock said many horticulture industries wanted a national labour licensing scheme that protected all labour hire workers from "bad actors". "The loopholes that are created by the lack of such a regulation mean people are getting away with exploiting their fellow man, which is really disappointing," he said. Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Amanda Rishworth said the federal government remained "committed" to implementing national labour hire reform. "[We] will continue to work with state and territory governments on pursuing a national approach," she said. "National labour hire reform will be on the agenda for the next meeting of state and territory ministers, which will be convened as soon as practicable." Ms Booth said while the "very high" breach areas would be prioritised and revisited during the next two years, it will continue to stamp out bad behaviour across Australia. "If we get any intelligence or any referrals from any other regulators with whom we work with, or we get any workers ringing us up, we will be there," she said.
ABC News
25-06-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Fair Work inspectors report rampant workplace breaches in prime horticulture zones
More than 80 per cent of horticulture businesses in Victoria's biggest growing regions were in breach of laws to protect workers, inspectors have found, after a nationwide crackdown on the sector. In a three-year investigation, Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) inspectors also found widespread breaches in prime horticulture areas in NSW. The report, released on Wednesday, singled out labour hire firms as the worst offenders, despite states increasingly regulating the sector. It says Victoria's Mornington Peninsula and Yarra Valley regions had the highest rate of overall non-compliance, with inspectors finding 83 per cent of employers failed to meet obligations under the Fair Work Act. The next-worst breach rates were in NSW's Riverina (72 per cent), Victoria's Sunraysia and Shepparton regions (70 per cent and 63 per cent respectively), and Coffs Harbour and Grafton in NSW (61 per cent). Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth said inspectors visited 360 farms, investigated 512 businesses during crop seasons and issued $760,405 in fines to employers who failed to meet their pay slip and record-keeping obligations. She also said labour hire firms used by farmers were most resistant to workplace laws, with 91 per cent of 166 infringement notices going to labour providers. "The vast majority of the wrongdoers are labour hire employers and they are often quite difficult to pin down," Ms Booth said. "The workers themselves often don't know who their employer is and [they are] just generally being treated very badly. "This is particularly troubling because many of these workers are migrants. They are often temporary visa holders." However, there were some positive signs from the three-year campaign. Queensland's Wide Bay and Moreton Bay were the nation's most compliant, with only 18 per cent and 8 per cent failing to follow the law, which was a turnaround from recent years. Ms Booth said most farmers in these areas directly employed staff rather than using labour hire, and regulator Queensland Labour Hire Licensing Compliance Unit was also in place, plus there had been leadership from employer groups via the Fair Farms programs, which audits businesses. Fair Farms, which runs training and certification and help growers improve their workplace compliance, was set up by farmer group Growcom with support from the Fair Work Ombudsman, the federal Department of Agriculture and horticulture group AUSVEG. Victoria also has a Labour Hire Authority and labour hire licensing schemes exist in South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory, which works with these agencies to stamp out lawbreakers. Ms Booth also said in January the FWO signed an enforceable undertaking with RJ Cornish & Co Pty Ltd, a fruit grower in Victoria's Goulburn Valley, following unlawful wage deductions of nearly $127,000 from 112 employees. The company was inspected in March last year as part of the regulator's horticulture strategy. The horticulture strategy also included more than 96 joint site inspections with other regulators, including Australian Border Force, Australian Taxation Office and WorkCover Queensland.
News.com.au
12-06-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Griffith University commits to pay back more than $8m to underpaid staff
Griffith University has signed a deal committing to repay underpaid staff more than $8m, becoming the sixth university to do so since 2022. Since 2015, the university underpaid 5457 staff across all of its six campuses, including academics, support and fitness workers – one who was underpaid as much as $92,400. It has signed an enforceable undertaking with the Fair Work Ombudsman, meaning it will be required to repay $8.34m including interest and superannuation. It is the sixth university to enter such a deal with Fair Work following The University of Melbourne, which last year agreed to pay back a mammoth $72m after a decade of wage theft. Since 2022, it has been a Fair Work priority to crack down on systemic underpayments in the university sector, with Latrobe University, The University of Sydney, the University of Technology Sydney, the University of Newcastle and Charles Sturt University all signing similar agreements. Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth commended Griffith University for self-reporting its breaches and its co-operation with the ombudsman's investigation. 'The matter serves as a warning of the significant long-running problems that can result from an employer failing to have appropriate checks and balances to ensure workplace compliance,' said Ms Booth. 'We expect universities to meet their legal obligations under their own enterprise agreements and underlying awards.' Griffith's failed to pay staff for activities including academic tutorials, subject co-ordination, and proper research assistant rates. Fitness employees were not paid split shift or meal allowances and progression between pay bands had been incorrectly paid. While the underpaid staff were located across all of the university's campuses, the majority were Brisbane-based. The cause of the issue was chalked up to insufficient training and data collection, non-existent payroll and data review processes, a lack of automation, and deficiencies in payroll systems. Under the agreement the university will also establish a new internal body to better consult between management, employees and the education union. 'Improving universities' workplace compliance is a priority for the Fair Work Ombudsman,' Ms Booth said. 'We look forward to working with the leadership teams at universities nationally to assist them to do the sustained, smart work required to ensure full compliance with workplace laws.'
ABC News
12-06-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Griffith University underpaid staff by $8.3 million, Fair Work Ombudsman finds
Queensland's Griffith University will repay more than $8 million to thousands of underpaid employees, as part of an agreement with the national workplace watchdog. The underpayments, which occurred between 2015 and 2024, affected approximately 5,457 current and former casual, academic and professional staff at all six of the university's south-east Queensland campuses. Affected employees worked across the arts, education, law, business, health and sciences divisions, with the majority based in Brisbane. In total, the workers will receive $8.34 million in back pay, including interest and superannuation. Individual underpayments ranged from less than $1 to more than $92,400, according to the Fair Work Ombudsman. The ombudsman said pay issues were caused by insufficient training among course convenors and school administrators, deficiencies in payroll systems, and a lack of data review processes. The university self-reported to the national regulator in 2022. Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth said the university had "cooperated with investigations" and had "demonstrated a strong commitment to rectifying its non-compliance issues". "The matter serves as a warning of the significant long-running problems that can result from an employer failing to have appropriate checks and balances to ensure workplace compliance," Ms Booth said. "We expect universities to meet their legal obligations under their own enterprise agreements and underlying awards." The university has entered an "enforceable undertaking" agreement with the ombudsman. Under that agreement, it must make a contrition payment of $175,000, which will be paid to the not-for-profit Cleaning Accountability Framework, which helps ensure fair working conditions for cleaners. It is also required to implement a range of measures to ensure compliance with workplace laws going forward.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
‘Warning': Uni to pay back 5k staff $8m
Griffith University has signed a deal committing to repay underpaid staff more than $8m, becoming the sixth university to do so since 2022. Since 2015, the university underpaid 5457 staff across all of its six campuses, including academics, support and fitness workers – one who was underpaid as much as $92,400. It has signed an enforceable undertaking with the Fair Work Ombudsman, meaning it will be required to repay $8.34m including interest and superannuation. It is the sixth university to enter such a deal with Fair Work following The University of Melbourne, which last year agreed to pay back a mammoth $72m after a decade of wage theft. Since 2022, it has been a Fair Work priority to crack down on systemic underpayments in the university sector, with Latrobe University, The University of Sydney, the University of Technology Sydney, the University of Newcastle and Charles Sturt University all signing similar agreements. Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth commended Griffith University for self-reporting its breaches and its co-operation with the ombudsman's investigation. 'The matter serves as a warning of the significant long-running problems that can result from an employer failing to have appropriate checks and balances to ensure workplace compliance,' said Ms Booth. 'We expect universities to meet their legal obligations under their own enterprise agreements and underlying awards.' Griffith's failed to pay staff for activities including academic tutorials, subject co-ordination, and proper research assistant rates. Fitness employees were not paid split shift or meal allowances and progression between pay bands had been incorrectly paid. While the underpaid staff were located across all of the university's campuses, the majority were Brisbane-based. The cause of the issue was chalked up to insufficient training and data collection, non-existent payroll and data review processes, a lack of automation, and deficiencies in payroll systems. Under the agreement the university will also establish a new internal body to better consult between management, employees and the education union. 'Improving universities' workplace compliance is a priority for the Fair Work Ombudsman,' Ms Booth said. 'We look forward to working with the leadership teams at universities nationally to assist them to do the sustained, smart work required to ensure full compliance with workplace laws.'
