Qantas braced for mammoth penalty
The airline was found to have acted unlawfully three times when it fired 1820 staff in favour of outsourced contractors during the height of the Covid pandemic.
While an earlier compensation hearing before Justice Michael Lee found Qantas should pay $120m to impacted workers, a further three-day hearing May sought to decide the additional penalty Qantas must pay for the 2020 decision.
The maximum penalty Qantas can be ordered to pay is $121m, on top of the compensation fund that is now in the process of being administered to workers.
Since Justice Lee reserved his decision in May, many sacked Qantas workers have anxiously awaited the final figure. The court will decide what Qantas must pay on top of the $120m compensation fund which is now in the process of being administered to workers. NewsWire / Nikki Short Credit: News Corp Australia
On Monday, he is expected to reveal the full amount, which should be well into the millions.
The Federal Court earlier found that Qantas had acted against protections in the Fair Work Act in its outsourcing and was partly motivated by a desire to prevent industrial action.
The airline appealed the decision to the full bench of the Federal Court and later the High Court, both of which were unsuccessful.
After losing the appeal, the union and Qantas went to mediation to determine how much Qantas would have to pay the outsourced workers for economic losses linked to lost wages.
TWU secretary Michael Kaine told media ahead of the hearing the airline's decision to get rid of a 'loyal workforce' was 'appalling' and the 'biggest case of illegal sackings in Australian corporate history'.
'The penalty to Qantas must reflect this and send a message to every other company in Australia that you cannot sack your workers to prevent them from using their industrial rights,' he said.
Meanwhile, Noel Hutley SC told the court in May that Qantas should pay the maximum penalty given its decision was the 'largest ever instance of the contravention of the Fair Work Act'.
He said Qantas was faced with an 'once-in-a-lifetime opportunity' during the pandemic to save more than $100m per year by outsourcing workers and were driven by the 'temptation of the potential to produce a massive profit'. Qantas recorded a $1.5bn in earnings for the first half of the 2025 financial year – $916m of that from its domestic operations, including its budget carrier Jetstar. Qantas/NewsWire Credit: Supplied
However, Qantas barrister Justin Gleeson SC said any penalty close to the maximum would be 'manifestly unfair'.
'Qantas has accepted the seriousness of its conduct,' he said.
'The court can and should impose a significant deterrent penalty. However, it is in effect a first contravention (of the Fair Work Act).'
On the first day of the hearing, Qantas people manager Catherine Walsh took the stand and issued an apology on the airline's behalf.
'I want to reinforce that we are deeply sorry, and we apologise for the impact on the workers, the TWU (Transport Workers Union), to the court for their time and to the family and friends that felt the impacts, we are deeply sorry,' she said.
However, the airline was later criticised for failing to call Qantas chief executive Vanessa Hudson during the hearing, and instead calling Ms Walsh, who was not employed by Qantas at the time of the sackings.
'One would have thought if you were truly contrite, you would put someone in the witness box who was there at the relevant time,' Justice Lee said.
The TWU is seeking a large majority of the penalty and also argued affected workers should receive further compensation.
The funds may otherwise will go directly to the Commonwealth.
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