The Fair Work Ombudsman has commenced legal action against a labour-hire operator for his alleged involvement in underpaying two Japanese fruit-pickers who worked on a farm in NSW's Mid-North Coast region.
Facing court is Kwang Siung Siong, who was the owner and sole director of labour-hire company Enze Group Pty Ltd, which operated in the horticulture industry in NSW and Victoria before going into liquidation last year.
The Fair Work Ombudsman alleges Mr Siong was involved in underpaying two Japanese nationals on working holiday visas a total of $6,985 over a seven-week period from October to December, 2023.
The workers included a man aged 24 and woman aged 25, at the time.
At the time of the alleged underpayments, Mr Siong's company had supplied the workers to a farm in Halfway Creek, just north of Coffs Harbour, where they picked blueberries, raspberries and blackberries.
It is alleged Mr Siong was involved in paying the workers on a piecework basis according to how much they picked and failed to comply with the requirement to pay them no less than the guaranteed daily minimum wage entitlement for a casual pieceworker under the Horticulture Award 2020.
It is alleged the workers each performed 181.56 hours of fruit picking work and Mr Siong was involved in paying them amounts that were insufficient to meet the minimum hourly rate for casual fruit pickers which was $28.26 per hour at the time. The two workers were in fact paid total amounts over the relevant period that averaged only $14.19 and $15.26 per hour, respectively.
It is alleged that Mr Siong was also involved in making unlawful deductions from the workers' wages for transport and accommodation and breaching record-keeping and pay slip laws, including by issuing the workers with a second set of false pay slips after one of the workers sought more detailed pay slips for the purpose of extending the pair's working holiday visas.
Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth said business operators had a lawful obligation to ensure workers received their full lawful minimum entitlements.
"Allegedly significantly undercutting minimum Award rates and issuing false pay slips is completely unacceptable conduct," Ms Booth said.
"We are committed to taking action to protect vulnerable workers in Australia, including visa holders, and to ensuring that individuals involved in breaching workplace laws are held to account.
"All business operators, including of labour hire businesses, need to be aware that taking action to protect visa holders and rid the horticulture sector of this sort of behaviour are priorities for the Fair Work Ombudsman.
"Employers paying workers on a piecework basis must ensure they meet the guaranteed daily minimum wage entitlement.
"Any employees with concerns about their pay or entitlements should contact us for free advice and assistance. They can also contact their union if they are a member."
The FWO is seeking penalties in court for multiple alleged breaches. Mr Siong faces penalties of up to $18,780 per breach.
The FWO is also seeking a court order requiring Mr Siong to rectify the alleged underpayments, plus interest.
A directions hearing is listed in the Federal Circuit and Family Court in Sydney on 7 August 2026.
The Fair Work Ombudsman filed 171 litigations against employers involving visa holder workers, and secured $39 million in penalties in cases that have included visa holder workers, in the eight financial years to June 2025.
The FWO filed 88 litigations involving an alleged accessory in the two years to June 2025. The FWO secured total penalties of $5,143,749 against accessories across the same timeframe.
