Campbell and Secretary, Attorney General’s Department

This matter concerned an application for review by Paul Campbell against a decision of the Secretary of the Attorney General’s Department regarding a claim for an advance under the Fair Entitlements Guarantee Act 2012 (Cth). Mr Campbell sought financial assistance for unpaid wages and entitlements accrued during his long employment with Sweet House Confectionary, which entered liquidation. The core dispute revolved around the applicable governing instrument for calculating Mr Campbell’s weekly wage, with Mr Campbell asserting an oral agreement with his employer and the Respondent contending that an industry award should apply.

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal was required to determine the applicable governing instrument for establishing Mr Campbell’s weekly wage for the purposes of his Fair Entitlements Guarantee claim. Specifically, the Tribunal had to decide whether an oral agreement between Mr Campbell and his employer, Sweet House, or the Storage Services and Wholesale Award 2010, was the appropriate basis for calculating his entitlements, given the Respondent’s submission that there was insufficient evidence to support the existence or conduct in accordance with the alleged oral agreement.

The Tribunal found Mr Campbell to be a credible witness whose evidence, despite the lack of formal documentation due to his employment circumstances and trusting relationship with his employer, demonstrated that he had an oral agreement for a weekly wage of $1,670.00. The Tribunal accepted that Mr Campbell lived a frugal life, with his employer covering certain expenses and providing cash payments, which Mr Campbell meticulously recorded as part of this agreement. Consequently, the Tribunal determined that the oral agreement was the applicable governing instrument. The Tribunal set aside the previous decision and determined that Mr Campbell was entitled to an advance of $129,939.16 in respect of unpaid wages, annual leave, payment in lieu of notice, redundancy, and long service leave entitlements.