Wage Theft Will Be Criminalised in Victoria If Labor Is Re-Elected

On Saturday, the Andrews Government committed to criminalising wage theft in Victoria should Labor be re-elected in November’s state election.

“Every worker has the right to get a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work – the simple fact is underpaying workers is theft and it’s time it’s treated like that in our laws,” Premier Daniel Andrews said in a statement.

Under the proposed new laws employers who deliberately withhold wages, super and entitlements from their employees would face harsh penalties. Falsifying or failing to keep accurate employment records would also incur penalties for employers. Those could be fines of up to $190,284 for individuals and up to $951,420 for companies. Serious offenders could be hit with a 10-year jail term.

A newly created employment watchdog, the Victorian Wage Inspectorate, will investigate and prosecute wage theft, with $22 million already allocated to pay for it in the Victorian Budget 2018/19. The inspectorate will have the power to enforce long-service-leave laws, and establish portable long-service-leave for contract cleaning, community services and security industry workers, among other powers.

The inspectorate will operate in addition to the federal Fair Work Ombudsman, which is responsible for enforcing the proper payment of workers nationally. The ombudsman has the power to prosecute breaches of the Fair Work Act through the civil courts, but also uses mediation to settle disputes between employers and employees; it can only mount criminal prosecutions in limited circumstances. It is not yet known how the two agencies will work together.

Labor’s new laws would also streamline the claims process for workers and make it more affordable. Workers looking to reclaim unpaid wages of less than $50,000 through the courts will pay lower court-filing fees, all claims will be heard within 30 days and the court processes will be simplified.

Employers will also be required to actively demonstrate they are carrying out court orders and have payed all entitlements owed to employees.

As reported by the Sydney Morning Herald , should the laws pass, Victoria will become the first jurisdiction in Australia to criminalise wage theft.