Wage Underpayments and Remediation

Description

Event Details

Wages and underpayments remain one of the most significant compliance risks for Australian employers. Despite sustained enforcement activity by the Fair Work Ombudsman and other regulators, wage underpayments continue to be widespread across many industries.

In many cases, underpayments arise from simple errors or misunderstandings of modern awards, enterprise agreements or annualised salary arrangements, rather than deliberate non‑compliance. However, this has not reduced regulatory scrutiny or public accountability.

We continue to see high‑profile media coverage of wage underpayment issues, with particular focus on vulnerable and migrant workers, inadequate record‑keeping practices, and systemic payroll failures. At the same time, there has been a continued increase in large‑scale underpayment claims and class actions, exposing employers and officers to substantial financial and reputational risk.

Ahead of the next Annual Wage Review in July and in light of ongoing changes to minimum wage and award rate obligations, now is a critical time for employers to review their wage practices, salary arrangements and payroll systems to ensure compliance and to avoid underpayments, civil penalties and potential wage theft exposure.

Join us for this free webinar, where we will provide a practical update on minimum wage compliance and underpayment risk management.

This webinar will cover:

• Common causes of wage underpayments
• How to identify and assess potential underpayments
• The ongoing compliance challenges of annualised salary arrangements
• Practical steps employers can take to proactively prevent underpayments
• Employer and officer obligations, including what to do if an underpayment is identified and how to rectify it
• Recent enforcement activity by the Fair Work Ombudsman
• Recent underpayment case examples, including class actions and high‑profile matters

Event Details:

Delivery:	Online via GoTo Webinar
Date:	Tuesday, 21 April 2026
Time:	12:00pm to 1:00pm (AEST)
Cost:	FREE

Our seminars, webinars and workshops are for the benefit of clients and prospective clients and others working in organisations who are seeking learning and development opportunities in employment law and workplace safety. HR Legal reserves the right to cancel the registration of any person.