In what it claims is its first litigation seeking to have a holding company found responsible for its subsidiaries' breaches, the FWO has initiated court action against ASX-listed Super Retail Group for self-reported underpayments of more than $1 million that led to an internal audit and backpayments exceeding $50 million that the watchdog says remain short of the mark.
Despite Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke's reluctance to hold back parts of the Secure Jobs, Better Pay Bill and its many "positive reforms", a leading labour law and IR academic says drafting issues and crossbench concerns will make fast passage a challenge.
The Albanese Government, in its first Budget, has allocated almost $70 million over four years for the FWO to take over the ABCC's regulatory role after its abolition, while delivering $20 million over the same period for the FWC to handle gender equity pay cases.
The FWO has hit a new high in the cases it has taken to court, as it continues to target large corporates and adds universities to its priority list, according to the watchdog's annual report.
The Fair Work Ombudsman has initiated legal action against the University of Melbourne, alleging it coerced and took adverse action against two casual academics to stop them claiming payment for work they performed.
The Fair Work Ombudsman says its record $532 million recovery of unpaid wages and entitlements in the last financial year was dominated by large corporates whose woes in part were caused by "complacency" or "high-risk workplace relations strategies".
The Albanese Government consulted with unions on its plan to abolish the ABCC before it held meetings with state and territory IR Ministers and the National Workplace Relations Consultative Council, according to information tabled in the Federal Parliament.
The FWO has lost its appeal against a finding that four allegedly underpaid delivery drivers were independent contractors rather than employees, the judge observing that the case was "much harder" to decide than the recent High Court ruling that guided him.
The Albanese Government has appointed former Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James as the secretary of the new Department of Employment and Workplace Relations that opens its doors next week.