Fair Work Ombudsman
At a glance
- Westpac Banking Corporation
- $50,000,000
- 47000
What happened
Westpac Banking Corporation signed an Enforceable Undertaking with the Fair Work Ombudsman after back-paying nearly 47,000 staff more than $50 million. The underpayments stretched over 11 years and affected employees at Westpac, St.George and Bank of Melbourne. The FWO said the cause was failures in systems, governance and compliance oversight, inadequate record-keeping, reliance on manual adjustments and input errors. Breaches of multiple Westpac Group enterprise agreements included underpaid casual loading, minimum wages for ordinary hours, higher duties allowances, weekend penalties, termination payments and leave payments.
What was decided
Westpac has entered into an Enforceable Undertaking with the FWO. More than 10,585 current employees had leave balances restored after incorrect deduction of leave and time off in lieu of public holidays was fixed. The $50 million figure is remediation paid to staff, not a civil penalty. Westpac must also implement new compliance measures under the EU.
What it means for employers
Large employers running complex enterprise agreements across multiple brands need payroll systems that do not rely on manual adjustments. Public holidays, leave accruals and time-off-in-lieu rules are common failure points. Governance of wage compliance sits at board and executive level, not just payroll. Regular reconciliations against EA minimums, and accurate classification levels, are essential.
What it means for employees
If you worked at Westpac, St.George or Bank of Melbourne between around 2014 and 2025, your pay, leave balances or termination payment may have been wrong. Westpac is contacting affected staff. If you think you may have been missed, or you left the bank during that period, you can contact Westpac or the Fair Work Ombudsman on 13 13 94.
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