Goodwin pays back $1.4m in wages

Goodwin Aged Care has signed an Enforceable Undertaking with the Fair Work Ombudsman after self-reporting underpayments relating to 335 employees in July 2024.

The Canberra-based aged care provider has so far completed back-payments of nearly $1.4 million, including interest and superannuation.

The average individual back-payment was $4,165, but one worker was owed $38,760 and another $2.

An internal audit found that individual flexibility arrangements in place for 313 employees did not meet the better-off-overall test and were over-reliant on non-monetary benefits, while incorrect payroll system configuration was attributed to the non-payment of owed penalty rates for 22 residential care employees not on IFAs.

Affected employees included personal care workers, nurses, care managers, catering assistants, cleaners, laundry attendants, chefs, allied health professionals, planning officers and administrators – who were variously engaged on a casual, part-time or full-time basis.

The employees were underpaid between July 2018 and March 2025.

FWO prioritises migrants, visa holders

Most of the underpaid workers were based in the Australian Capital Territory and more than 75 per cent of them were from a non-English-speaking background. Of the underpaid workers, 10 per cent were visa holders.

Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth said migrants and visa holders are a priority for the FWO, as they can be vulnerable in the workplace due to a lack of awareness of laws or concerns about speaking up.

But importantly, they have the same rights as any other employees in Australia and protections for their visa if they seek help, she said.

“The FWO repeats its call to all aged care providers to check their compliance, and to do what Goodwin now has in making sure their payroll systems are fit-for-purpose and that staff are being properly trained to ensure hard-working employees are paid every dollar they’re entitled to,” Ms Booth said.

“We urge aged care providers to invest in their systems and to undertake their own, regular wage compliance audits, including of IFAs and enterprise agreements – otherwise they potentially face big back-payment bills.”

EU terms

Under the terms of the EU, Goodwin must engage an auditor to verify its compliance and make sure its board takes actions to rectify any issues and provide relevant documentation to the FWO.

It must also maintain communication with workers, including via its workplace consultative committee and a notice on its website about the underpayments.

The news follows a FWO investigation that recovered $5.3 million in wages for nearly 3,600 aged care employees last month.