Another day, another Senate inquiry – this time into Australia’s federal laws dealing with “wage theft”.
Wage theft became a federal crime on January 1 2025. Employers who deliberately “steal” from their workers’ pay can now be prosecuted and subject to hefty criminal fines, even jail time.
But in the 15 months since the law came into effect, the Fair Work Ombudsman has reported only two criminal investigations into wage theft and there have been zero prosecutions.
