The Fair Work Ombudsman has secured a total of AUD 204,000 (USD 140,543) in penalties in court against the operators of a Brisbane, Australia fast food business after they used false records to try to frustrate an investigation.

Australia’s Federal Circuit and Family Court has imposed an AUD 185,000 (USD 127,453) penalty against Riddhi Siddhi Pty Ltd, which operates the ‘Vege Rama’ fast food outlet and an associated commercial kitchen in Fortitude Valley. The Court also imposed an additional AUD 19,000 (USD 13,100) penalty against company director Ruchika Sharma.

The Fair Work Ombudsman investigated after receiving a request for assistance from a Nepalese visa holder who was employed as a casual kitchenhand at the commercial kitchen from April 2018 to August 2019.

Most of the penalties have been imposed in response to Riddhi Siddhi breaching the Fair Work Act by making false records and providing them to Fair Work Inspectors during the investigation. Riddhi Siddhi also breached the Fair Work Act by giving false or misleading payslips to an employee and failing to comply with a Compliance Notice requiring the company to back-pay the worker, who worked up to 66 hours per week and was paid AUD 11 to AUD 13 (USD 7.58 to 8.96) an hour. The company back-paid the worker AUD 59,400 (USD 40,923), plus interest and superannuation, only after the Fair Work Ombudsman commenced legal action.

Judge Salvatore Vasta found that Riddhi Siddhi and Sharma had falsified records to make it appear the Nepalese casual worker had been paid Award rates and provided the records to the Ombudsman in “an attempt to obfuscate the truth and to ensure that any proper investigation was never able to be pursued”.

“The severity and seriousness of what (Riddhi Siddhi and Ms Sharma) have done cannot be overstated. This was a deception that went to the heart of the fair industrial and employment system of this country,” Vasta said.

The Fair Work Ombudsman has an agreement with the Department of Home Affairs, called the Assurance Protocol, where visa holders can ask for our help without fear of their visa being cancelled for breaches of their work-related visa conditions.