Australian Building and Construction Commissioner v Adams
Citation: [2018] FCA 1520
At a glance
- Penalty
- $103,600
- Employees affected
- 74
What happened
This is the penalty phase following the 2015 decision finding 74 building workers contravened section 417(1) of the Fair Work Act by engaging in unlawful industrial action on 28 February 2013 at a construction site. The workers had breached a Fair Work Commission order that prohibited industrial action. The Court considered factors including the seriousness of the conduct, absence of prior contraventions, whether conduct was deliberate, and industrial context.
What was decided
The Court imposed a pecuniary penalty of $1,400 on each of the 74 respondents. The Court found the penalty was reasonable and proportionate, noting that all were first-time contravenors and that the maximum penalty could have been $10,200 per person. The Court emphasized that taking unauthorised industrial action comes at a cost and imposed the penalty to provide general deterrence.
What it means for employers
Employers should ensure strict compliance with Fair Work Commission orders. Industrial action undertaken in breach of such orders will result in penalties on workers. Employers may need to take action to enforce compliance.
What it means for employees
Individuals who engage in industrial action in breach of a Fair Work Commission order face personal pecuniary penalties. The penalties provide deterrence against unlawful industrial action.
Want this applied to your situation?
Reading the decision is free. FairWork Mate goes further — it reads the full case library and applies precedents like this one to your specific facts, citing the cases as it reasons. General information, not a guaranteed outcome or legal advice.
Every statement above is drawn from the published decision. Read the original here:
https://www.judgments.fedcourt.gov.au/judgments/Judgments/fca/single/2018/2018fca1520Want more cases like this?
FairWork Mate tracks Fair Work Ombudsman, Fair Work Commission and Federal Court decisions across Australia. The AI advisor answers plain-English questions grounded on the full corpus — awards cited, industry, penalty amounts and affected employee counts — with a citation to the underlying decision on every answer.
Individual case summaries on this site are free. Full-corpus advisor access is a paid product — Business Solo from $99/mo, 50% off your first 3 months for the first 100 signups.
Get notified on new Fair Work cases
Free email alerts when we publish new underpayment decisions, penalty orders, and workplace law updates.
Free forever. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
This summary was drafted from the published decision and reviewed before publishing. It is general information, not legal advice. For your specific situation, speak to the Fair Work Ombudsman (13 13 94) or a qualified lawyer. About these summaries & corrections →