First published on Wednesday, August 26, 2026
Last updated on Wednesday, August 26, 2026
Unfortunately, there has been no shortage of instances of underpayments and wage theft being investigated by the Fair Work Commission. While there are various instances of small businesses underpaying staff, larger companies with substantial amounts unpaid wages are also becoming increasingly common.
In this case from a Fair Work media release, a livestock transport company is being investigated for allegedly underpaying 23 of its workers almost $300,000 while being told that their employment was ending through text messages.
The company and allegations
The company in question facing the allegations is TLCP Vic PTY Ltd, known as Transedel Livestock Carriers before ceasing operations. Due to a tip-off from employees, the Fair Work Ombudsman commenced an investigation, allegedly uncovering that the 23 staff members hadn’t been paid redundancy and payment-in-lieu-of-notice of termination entitlements after their employment ended.
According to the Fair Work Ombudsman, the company also allegedly did not follow a Compliance Notice regarding the alleged underpayments to its employees.
The potential penalties
With this investigation, the Fair Work Ombudsman is seeking penalties regarding various alleged contraventions. The company is potentially dealing with penalties of $93,900 for each alleged contravention of the National Employment Standards, with $99,000 on top for failing to act on the Compliance Notice. The director of TLCP Vic Pty Ltd and manager of Transedel Livestock Carriers are also potentially facing penalties.
Under wage theft legislation in Australia, you can be prosecuted and face significant penalties for not paying your employees what they are owed and according to the relevant award. With wage theft, Fair Work considers it to be a serious matter and will not hesitate to prosecute companies engaging in it. If you need help understanding your Fair Work obligations, Book a free demo with our team today and see how BrightHR can help you with compliance.
