The ‘wrong kind of sorry’: will a record fine for Qantas deter other companies from breaking the law?

Tue, 19 Aug 2025 19:10:26 +1000

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

Andrew Pam
<https://theconversation.com/the-wrong-kind-of-sorry-will-a-record-fine-for-qantas-deter-other-companies-from-breaking-the-law-263324>

"On Monday, the Federal Court of Australia handed Qantas a record fine of A$90
million for breaching the Fair Work Act by unlawfully terminating the
employment of 1,820 ground workers during the pandemic.

The decision to impose this penalty – the largest ever issued under the Fair
Work Act
 – marks the final instalment in a five-year litigation saga initiated
by the Transport Workers’ Union (TWU).

Delivering the ruling, Federal Court Justice Michael Lee ordered $50 million of
the fine be paid to the union, partly to act as a deterrent that “should
encourage others to pursue compliance with industrial relations laws”.

The fate of the remaining $40 million will depend on a later hearing to
determine if some or all of it should be paid to the sacked workers. That would
be on top of $120 million in compensation already agreed."

Cheers,
       *** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net               Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/                 Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/            Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/               Manager, Serious Cybernetics

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