The Fair Work Ombudsman has secured $18,950 in penalties in court against a housing construction company based in south-western Sydney and its sole director for an alleged breach affecting a migrant worker.
The Federal Circuit and Family Court has imposed a $15,800 penalty against Veens Group Pty Ltd, which is based in Harrington Park, and a $3,150 penalty against the company's sole director Dasi Shi.
The penalties were imposed in response to Veens Group failing to comply with a Compliance Notice, which required the company to calculate and back-pay a construction worker it employed. Mr Shi was involved in the contravention.
The worker, a Mandarin-speaker then aged 29, was in Australia on a student visa at the time he was employed.
A Fair Work Inspector issued a Compliance Notice to Veens Group in June 2023 after forming a belief that it had not paid the worker for eight days of casual work he performed in October 2022.
The worker was entitled to be paid minimum casual wages under the Building and Construction General On-Site Award 2020.
Veens Group back-paid the worker $300 prior to the Fair Work Ombudsman commencing legal action and then back-paid the worker the remaining $1,577 owing to him only after the Fair Work Ombudsman commenced legal action.
Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth said employers that failed to act on Compliance Notices needed to be aware they could face court-imposed penalties on top of having to pay workers.
"Where employers do not comply, we will take appropriate action to protect employees. A court can order a business to pay penalties and to make payments to workers," Ms Booth said.
"Employers should also be aware that taking action to protect migrant workers, and improve compliance in the construction sector, are priorities for the FWO. Any employees with concerns about their pay or entitlements should contact us for free advice and assistance."
Judge Lisa Doust found that the Fair Work Ombudsman had made repeated attempts to secure compliance with the Compliance Notice but the failure of Veens Group to seriously engage necessitated the commencement of FWO's legal proceedings.
In reference to the $1,877 underpayment of the worker, Judge Doust found that Mr Shi had candidly admitted in court that "because the amount was not that big, he did not take it seriously".
However, Judge Doust said, "For a worker dependent upon remuneration at Award rates, the amount is no doubt a significant one."
Judge Doust found there was a need to impose penalties that deterred Veens Group, Mr Shi and other employers from similar contraventions in future.
"The penalty must be sufficient to send a message that compliance notices impose serious obligations, and the failure to respond to them carries serious consequences," Judge Doust said.
"Unfortunately for the respondents, this matter must serve as an object lesson for other employers that they cannot fail to treat compliance notices with the seriousness the statutory scheme intends."
The Fair Work Ombudsman investigated after receiving a request for assistance from the affected worker.
In 2024-25, the FWO secured total court penalties of more than $870,000 for failures to comply with Compliance Notices.
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 Fair Work Ombudsman recovered nearly $16.5 million in unpaid entitlements for employees across the entire building and construction sector between 10 November 2022 and 30 June 2025. (The FWO resumed responsibility for regulating Fair Work Act compliance in the commercial building and construction sector on 10 November 2022).
