The penalties went straight to the employee, not a regulator
An Australian employer stopped paying its employee for over a year, carried on expecting him to work, and has been ordered to pay $140,000.
On 23 April 2026, the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia handed down its penalty decision in Lambert v Arria NLG (Aus) Pty Ltd (No 2), a case that crystallises what payroll failure looks like when it reaches the courtroom.
Mark Kevin Lambert was employed by Arria NLG (Aus) Pty Ltd, the Australian arm of a multinational technology group, under the Professional Employees Award. Between 1 February 2024 and 28 February 2025, his employer stopped paying his salary entirely. Superannuation contributions had stopped even earlier, from as far back as 4 August 2023.
In June 2024, Lambert wrote directly to the company's chief executive officer. At that point, more than $70,000 in wages was already outstanding, and he gave the company a deadline of 25 June 2024 to fix it. It did not. Partial payments came through in August and October 2024 for wages owed in December 2023 and January 2024 respectively. The amounts owed for subsequent periods were never paid.
The court had previously ordered the company to pay compensation of $135,416.67 in unpaid salary and $17,968.78 in unpaid superannuation. The company did not comply with those orders either, telling the court it was waiting to know the full extent of its liability. It also filed no defence in the proceedings.
Judge Doust...
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