Fair Work Ombudsman
Citation: FWO-2022-12-19-australian-unity-eu-media-release
At a glance
- Penalty
- $6,800,000
- Awards cited
- MA000100
What happened
Australian Unity Limited, the ASX-listed health, wealth and care company, signed an Enforceable Undertaking with the Fair Work Ombudsman after back-paying staff in Victoria and New South Wales more than $6.8 million. Australian Unity self-reported in November 2020 after identifying payroll errors in its Independent and Assisted Living arm, which operates retirement communities and provides aged care, allied health and disability services. Between 2014 and 2021, employees were underpaid entitlements owed under 10 current and former enterprise agreements, two state awards, and the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award 2010 (SCHADS). Breaches related to penalty rates, minimum engagements, overtime, travel time, higher duties, leave accruals and superannuation. Affected staff included nurses, cooks, catering staff, residential care workers, lifestyle workers, administrative staff, gardeners, laundry and maintenance workers.
What was decided
Australian Unity entered an EU with the FWO and completed more than $6.8 million in back-pay across Victoria and New South Wales. The figure is remediation, not a civil penalty. Australian Unity agreed to a compliance program under the EU.
What it means for employers
Care organisations often sit across multiple enterprise agreements, state awards and the SCHADS Award at the same time. Running one payroll template against that patchwork is a guaranteed source of breach. Treat multi-instrument compliance as a dedicated payroll workstream with audit, not an HR side task.
What it means for employees
Australian Unity Independent and Assisted Living staff in Victoria and New South Wales between 2014 and 2021, including nurses, care workers, lifestyle, catering and administrative staff, may be owed back-pay. Australian Unity is contacting affected staff through its remediation program.
Every statement above is drawn from the published decision. Read the original here:
https://www.fairwork.gov.au/newsroom/media-releases/2022-media-releases/december-2022/20221219-australian-unity-eu-media-releaseWant more cases like this?
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This summary was drafted by AI 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 →