Fair Work Ombudsman
Citation: FWO-2023-04-19-newcastle-frac-audits-media-release
At a glance
- Penalty
- $1,660,000
What happened
The Fair Work Ombudsman is conducting surprise inspections of approximately 50 food outlets in Newcastle, New South Wales. The inspections target businesses in suburbs like Broadmeadow, Cameron Park, and Mayfield. The regulator is checking for compliance with pay and entitlements, following intelligence suggesting potential underpayments. Businesses targeted often serve as 'cheap eats' venues and may employ vulnerable workers, such as visa holders. The inspections involve speaking with business owners, managers, and employees, and reviewing records.
What was decided
The Fair Work Ombudsman is undertaking inspections to ensure businesses comply with workplace laws. Fair Work inspectors will hold employers accountable and take enforcement action if necessary. The Ombudsman highlighted the risk of exploitation for visa holder workers and encouraged employers to use available resources. Last year, the FWO secured $1.66 million in penalties and recovered over $13 million for underpaid employees.
What it means for employers
Employers, particularly in the fast food, restaurant, and café sector, should ensure they are meeting their obligations regarding pay and entitlements. They should familiarise themselves with Fair Work Ombudsman resources and tools, including the pay calculator and Small Business Showcase. Failure to comply can result in enforcement action and penalties.
What it means for employees
Employees, especially visa holders, should be aware of their workplace rights and feel comfortable raising concerns about potential underpayments or other non-compliance issues. Free assistance and advice are available from the Fair Work Ombudsman.
Every statement above is drawn from the published decision. Read the original here:
https://www.fairwork.gov.au/newsroom/media-releases/2023-media-releases/april-2023/20230419-newcastle-frac-audits-media-releaseWant more cases like this?
FairWork Mate tracks Fair Work Ombudsman, Fair Work Commission and Federal Court decisions across Australia. The full dataset, with structured fields for awards cited, industry, penalty amounts and affected employee counts, is available through the Business API. FairWork Mate AI answers plain-English questions grounded on the full corpus.
Individual case summaries on this site are free. API + AI access is a paid product. Contact us for pricing or a 50% off first month.
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 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 →