Wage Theft Laws in Australia

Wage theft laws in Australia are often discussed as though criminalisation replaced what came before. It did not. Two tracks now run alongside each other.

The criminal track deals with intentional underpayment and carries imprisonment as a possible outcome for an individual.

The civil track is unchanged in structure and covers underpayment generally, including where nobody intended anything of the sort. Compliance notices, enforceable undertakings, litigation and civil penalties all sit on this side.

The two are not alternatives. An employer can face civil consequences whether or not the conduct was intentional, and protections that close off the criminal path expressly do not close off the civil one.

Assuming that an honest mistake means no exposure at all is the misunderstanding most worth correcting inside a business.

The Fair Work Ombudsman publishes both. This is general information rather than legal advice, and obligations vary by state and territory.

See Sentrient’s wage theft webinar and GRC system.