The Australian Taxation Office (ATO), Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO), and Department of Home Affairs have teamed up under the Shadow Economy Taskforce to crack down on unlawful labour hire practices in the agriculture sector, conducting surprise inspections in Queensland’s Gatton region.

On 26 November, the three regulators visited seven locations, including farms that produce broccoli, onions, pumpkins and shallots, as part of ‘Operation Topaz’.

The ATO, FWO and Department of Home Affairs are investigating farmers and labour hire providers to ensure they are complying with relevant tax, super, workplace and immigration laws, including whether:

• super guarantee is being paid to eligible employees. (The super guarantee is the minimum amount of superannuation Australian employers must pay to their employees to avoid a super guarantee charge.)
• employers are correctly withholding tax from payments made to workers and paying those amounts to the ATO
• employers are paying workers their correct wages and entitlements, keeping accurate records and issuing lawful payslips
• workers are being correctly engaged as employees or contractors
• employers and migrant workers are complying with their responsibilities and obligations under the Migration Act.

Inspectors and officers on-site interviewed workers, managers, and employers while requesting various records, with investigations still underway. 

ATO Assistant Commissioner Tony Goding said the ATO takes non-compliance with tax and super seriously.

Goding said, “The shadow economy involves activities such as paying workers cash-in-hand to avoid obligations, paying wages below award rates, and not paying workers’ other entitlements. Businesses that engage in the shadow economy are deliberately undercutting their competitors, gaining an unfair advantage in their industry and stealing from their employees’ futures.”

“Employers that do not meet their obligations face firmer and faster action,” Goding added.