Storey v The Monitoring Centre Pty Ltd and Ors (No.2)

In *Storey v The Monitoring Centre Pty Ltd and Ors (No.2)*, the Federal Court of Australia was asked to assess pecuniary penalties for contraventions of section 340 of the *Fair Work Act 2009* (Cth). The applicant also sought an order for costs against the respondents.

The primary legal issue before the Court was the appropriate quantum of pecuniary penalties to be imposed for the contraventions. Additionally, the Court was required to determine whether the respondents had acted unreasonably in either refusing settlement offers made by the applicant or in their general conduct of the proceedings, which would warrant an order for costs in favour of the applicant.

Judge Manousaridis reasoned that while contraventions of section 340 had occurred, the penalties should reflect the specific circumstances, including the respondents' level of culpability and the need for deterrence. Regarding the costs application, the Court found that the respondents' conduct did not meet the threshold of unreasonableness required to depart from the usual rule that costs follow the event. Consequently, the application for costs made by the applicant was dismissed.