Employment lawyer says underpayments rarely stem from a conscious decision by employers to short-change staff
External factors and increasingly complex enterprise agreements are causing non-compliance in Australia's disability support services sector, where several employers have been hit with underpayment controversies recently.
This is according to Fay Calderone, partner at Hall & Wilcox, who pointed out that the sector operates within one of the "most intricate employment landscapes."
"Providers are balancing the demands of delivering essential care around the clock while managing large, geographically dispersed workforces, complex rostering arrangements, funding pressures, the SCHADS Award and increasingly complex enterprise agreements," Calderone told HRD Australia.
"In an environment where every shift, classification and progression point matters, seemingly routine payroll processes can become significant compliance risks if the underlying systems, controls and oversight are not functioning as they should."
Calderone made the remarks as Sunnyfield, a disability services provider, signed an Enforceable Undertaking (EU) with the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) in October 2026 after underpayments of about $5.43 million affecting more than 1,700 workers.
It follows an EU signed by disability services provider Yooralla in July 2026, after it also underpaid more than 1,300 former and current workers about $2.05 million.
The sector is already a "priority area" for the FWO,...
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