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ARTICLE · 21 MARCH 2024

Getting wages right - criminalisation and increased penalties

Bartier Perry Solicitors
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Employers will soon be subject to new laws that criminalise the underpayment of wages and other monetary benefits.

AustraliaEmployment and HR
Sylvia Moses
Sylvia Moses
Joshua Handley
Joshua Handley
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Underpayment of wages and wage theft will no longer be tolerated, with the Federal Government implementing significant measures in the Closing Loophole legislation to deter and punish non-payment of the correct wages to workers.

Likely from 1 January 2025, employers will be subject to new laws that criminalise the underpayment of wages and other monetary benefits. If found guilty, an employer may face significant financial penalties. Individuals may face prison. It is serious stuff.

From 27 February 2024 the maximum civil penalty for underpayments increased. Even larger exposure to penalties commence when the wage theft provisions commence.

Employers are rightly concerned. Underpayments happen. They shouldn't, but they do. Complying with Australian industrial laws - which are changing all the time - can be challenging and difficult. Individual circumstances can be complicated. Industrial instruments are typically difficult to interpret. Implementation of wage

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