Fair Work Ombudsman v Ausinko Pty Ltd

The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) brought proceedings against Ausinko Pty Ltd in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia concerning alleged contraventions of the *Fair Work Act 2009* (Cth). The dispute centred on Ausinko's failure to comply with a number of enterprise agreements and awards, leading to underpayments of wages and entitlements to its employees. The FWO sought pecuniary penalty orders against the company.

The primary legal issue before Judge Jarrett was the appropriate assessment of pecuniary penalties for Ausinko's contraventions. This involved considering the nature and extent of the breaches, the company's conduct, and the need for deterrence, both specific to Ausinko and general to the wider employer community. The court was required to determine a penalty that was proportionate to the offending conduct and reflected the seriousness of the breaches.

In assessing the penalty, Judge Jarrett considered the totality of Ausinko's conduct, noting that the contraventions were not isolated incidents but rather a course of conduct that persisted over a significant period. The court applied principles of deterrence, emphasising that penalties must be sufficient to discourage future non-compliance by the employer and others in similar positions. The assessment also took into account the need for proportionality, ensuring that the penalty reflected the gravity of the breaches and the impact on the affected employees. The court ultimately ordered Ausinko Pty Ltd to pay a pecuniary penalty.