A Sydney accounting and financial services company and its owner have been ordered to pay $177,000 in court penalties after forcing a migrant worker to hand back money that covered her wages, tax and superannuation.
As per Fair Work statement, the Federal Circuit and Family Court imposed a $148,000 penalty on Innovative Associates Pty Ltd and a further $29,000 penalty on its owner and sole director, Dila Ram Kharel.
The Nepali national, who was in her 30s and held a temporary graduate visa, worked part-time as an assistant accountant between July 2019 and December 2020.
The company initially failed to pay her any wages for about 10 weeks. It then allegedly required her to transfer money into bank accounts controlled by Kharel, which was subsequently used to fund her wages and meet the company’s tax and superannuation obligations.
Between October 2019 and December 2020, the worker paid $32,907 into accounts controlled by Kharel, while Innovative Associates returned $27,873.50 to her as wages.
Overall, the company underpaid the worker $40,164.49, including unpaid wages and other entitlements. The full amount has since been repaid.
The company also breached record-keeping and payslip requirements, including knowingly providing a Fair Work inspector with false or misleading payslips. It also failed to pay public holiday entitlements and accrued annual leave.
Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth said the case demonstrated the seriousness of unlawful cashback arrangements.
“This company implemented a cashback scheme to try to give the impression that it was complying with its legal wage obligations, when in fact it was deliberately exploiting a vulnerable migrant worker for its own gain,” Booth said.
Judge Gillian Eldershaw found the contraventions were deliberate, noting the company and Kharel had provided false and misleading information to an inspector and took two years after the investigation began to start rectifying the breaches.
The judge said the penalties needed to send a strong message that such conduct was unacceptable and deter other employers from similar exploitation.
The Fair Work Ombudsman said protecting vulnerable workers, including visa holders, remains a priority and reminded employers that all workers in Australia are entitled to receive and keep their lawful minimum entitlements regardless of visa status.
The case followed a request for assistance from the worker.
Between July 2023 and June 2025, the Fair Work Ombudsman filed 88 litigations involving alleged accessories, securing more than $5.14 million in penalties. Over the eight financial years to June 2025, it filed 171 litigations involving visa-holder workers and secured $39 million in penalties in cases involving visa holders.
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