Fair Work Ombudsman v Delahill Pty Ltd

The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) brought proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia against Delahill Pty Ltd concerning alleged breaches of the civil remedy provisions of the *Fair Work Act 2009* (Cth). The dispute centred on Delahill's failure to comply with a compliance notice issued by the FWO, which required the company to rectify underpayments to its employees.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether the conduct that formed the basis for the FWO issuing the compliance notice could be considered when determining the penalty for Delahill's subsequent failure to comply with that notice. The FWO contended that the original contraventions should be taken into account, while Delahill argued that the penalty should be confined to the failure to comply with the notice itself.

Judge Cameron reasoned that the *Fair Work Act 2009* contemplates that the underlying contraventions are relevant to the assessment of penalties for non-compliance with a compliance notice. The Court held that the purpose of compliance notices is to secure rectification of contraventions, and therefore, the seriousness of the original contraventions is a material factor in determining the appropriate penalty for failing to comply with the notice. The Court applied principles of statutory interpretation to conclude that the legislative framework did not intend to sever the link between the original contraventions and the penalties for non-compliance with remedial directions.

The Court ordered Delahill Pty Ltd to pay pecuniary penalties for its contraventions of the *Fair Work Act 2009*.