A L Star Express hit with $600000 fine largest in Australian history

A labor-hire company A L Star Express Pty Limited hit with a $600000 fine which is the largest penalty in Australian labour hire licensing law history. The company has been fined for underpayment and mistreatment of its workers.

A L Star Express was discovered to have deliberately and regularly violated the Labour Hire Licensing Act. It sent workers to horticulture firms across Melbourne without a labor hire license.

A Victorian unlicensed labour hire company which paid its workers as little as $17 an hour has been slammed with a whopping $617,000 penalty by the state watchdog.https://t.co/WuTHti17H8
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) December 5, 2023

A L Star Express hit with $600000 fine largest in Australian history

International laborers, some of whom, spoke very basic English had little pay at $17 per hour by the company. The Supreme Court of Victoria has imposed now the biggest penalty ever on A L Express under labor hire licensing rules.

The fined company hired and exploited workers to pick fruits and vegetables as well as work at an egg farm and a nursery in Melbourne suburbs. Such as Rosebud, Koo Wee Rup, Torquay, and Devon Meadows.

According to Steve Dargavel, the labor hire company exploited workers who were vulnerable due to language barriers and visa status. He added it is unethical to pay vulnerable workers $17 per hour. Steve is the Commissioner of Labor High Authority.

Steve added that picking fruit and vegetables is not simple work. The company should have compensated workers at least at the legal minimum. And surely paying workers under $17 an hour and exploiting their vulnerability is unacceptable.

A L Star Express hit with $600000 fine largest in Australian history

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Furthermore, Steve said picking fruit and vegetables workers are among the most vulnerable laborers. And the organizations that employ them must be properly verified and licensed.

The Supreme Court of Victoria (SCV) stated in its decision that the punishment must be sufficiently high not to be the cost of doing business. Mr. Steve stated that this was the objective of Victoria’s labor hiring laws.

Besides the heavy penalty, Victoria’s Labour Hire Authority (LHA) may suspend, or cancel licenses issued to labor hire providers in Victoria.