a day ago
Benalla business fined $255k for providing farm workers without labour hire licence
A regional Victorian horticulture company and two individuals at the business have been fined a quarter of a million dollars for breaching labour laws.
The Supreme Court of Victoria found Cameron Workforce in Benalla contravened state labour laws by providing workers without a labour hire licence.
The workers picked grapes and chestnuts on several farms in the Benalla region.
The court imposed a $200,000 penalty on the business.
It also ordered a company director to pay a $40,000 penalty, and another individual was fined $15,000 for their conduct.
The hefty financial penalties come after the Labour Hire Authority (LHA) launched an investigation into overcrowded worker accommodation.
The court found workers were housed in overcrowded and substandard housing owned by a company director.
It found the business failed to provide workers with a number of entitlements, including written contracts or pay slips.
Workers were not provided a minimum hourly rate under the industry award or superannuation contributions, and had their income tax withheld from wages.
The court's findings and the financial penalty come after the company's bank account was frozen in 2023 following earlier court action taken by the LHA.
The company had agreed not to provide labour hire without a licence.
The authority said given the defendant's non-compliance with a range of laws, they would make referrals to other relevant regulators.
Labour hire licensing commissioner Steve Dargavel said labour hire workers in the horticulture industry were among the state's most vulnerable.
"The industry is a key focus for our expanded compliance and enforcement program," he said.
"LHA will use all the tools at its disposal to remove exploitative businesses from the labour hire industry."
