The Fair Work Ombudsman in Australia announced recoveries of AUD 509 million (USD 335 million) in unpaid wages and entitlements for more than a quarter of a million workers in 2022-23.

The recoveries sum is the second-largest annual figure in the national regulator’s history.

Acting Fair Work Ombudsman Kristen Hannah said, “The recovery of AUD 509 million in the last financial year is a great result for the workers who have been backpaid their withheld wages, and also for the businesses that pay correctly and are no longer at a disadvantage as a result.”

“The latest recoveries mean the Fair Work Ombudsman has seen more than AUD 1 billion recovered for workers across Australia in the last two years alone,” Hannah said.

More than half of the 2022-23 recoveries – AUD 317 million (USD 208 million) – came from large corporate and university employers.

 Hannah said the regulator had also delivered on its important role to educate on workplace laws, including regular changes.

“As a regulator we recognise that prevention is better than cure, so we put a huge amount of effort into our education and advice function to help ensure employers and workers have the latest accurate information they need to be compliant,” Hannah said.