Ana arrived on a student visa and found work within two days at a CBD café. The manager said the pay was $16/hour. She thought it was great — back home she earned far less. Two years later, chatting with an Australian colleague who worked the same shifts, she found out her colleague was earning $31.19/hour. Same café, same role, similar shifts. Over two years, Ana received approximately $33,280. Had she been paid the correct casual rate, she would have received around $64,875. The difference of more than $31,000 was unlawful wage theft — and the law allows you to claim back pay for up to 6 years.

The three employment types and their minimum rates

Your employment type determines the minimum you should be earning. Identifying yours is the first step.

Full-time — 38 hours per week with mutual commitment between employer and employee. Includes paid leave, sick leave, and other entitlements. Minimum: $24.95/hour since July 2025.

Full-time workers have guaranteed hours and job security, with entitlements to paid leave accrued throughout the year.

Part-time — fewer than 38 hours per week, with the same entitlements as full-time applied on a pro-rata basis. Minimum: $24.95/hour since July 2025.

If you work 20 hours a week with agreed fixed hours, you are likely part-time — and entitled to pro-rata leave and other benefits.

Casual — no commitment to regular hours on either side. To compensate for the absence of benefits such as leave, casual workers receive a loading of 25% on top of the base rate, known as casual loading. Minimum: $31.19/hour since July 2025.

Casual loading is not a bonus — it is a mandatory part of casual pay. Anyone receiving $25/hour as a casual worker is already being underpaid.

Why this happens to immigrants

Wage exploitation of immigrants is not accidental. A combination of factors makes it possible — and for some employers, attractive.

Smaller networks mean fewer points of comparison. Without colleagues who speak openly about pay, it is hard to know whether what you earn is normal or exploitative. A lack of familiarity with local employment entitlements — awards, casual loading, superannuation — creates an information asymmetry that unscrupulous employers deliberately exploit.

Migration pressure also plays a role. The fear of "better not complain" to avoid losing the job or complicating your visa situation is real and common. But this logic is flawed: your workplace rights exist regardless of your migration status, and the law protects workers who report exploitation.

How to calculate what you are owed

Identify your employment type

Are you full-time, part-time, or casual? Fixed hours every week point to full-time or part-time. No commitment to regular hours points to casual. If unsure, Fair Work has a tool to help you identify your employment type.

Check the award for your industry

Visit the Fair Work Pay Calculator and select your industry and role. The system shows the minimum you should be receiving, including variations for shift types (nights, weekends, public holidays).

Add up your hours worked

Gather all available records — payslips, bank statements, messages about rosters, your own notes. Calculate the total hours worked in the period you want to claim, week by week.

Calculate the difference

Multiply your hours by the correct minimum rate (including award and casual loading if applicable). Compare this with what you actually received. The difference is the amount you can claim.

Gather evidence

Organise your payslips, bank statements showing deposits received, messages about rosters and hours, and any other records that document your presence and work. Well-organised evidence speeds up the claims process.

The 6-year time limit

The Fair Work Act allows unpaid wages to be claimed retroactively for up to 6 years from the date the payment was due. This applies both to workers still in the job and to those who have already left.

If you left a job less than 6 years ago, you can still lodge a claim. The clock starts from the date each payment should have been made — not from the date you discovered the problem.

How to act

You have several options, and you do not need to start with the most confrontational one.

Report to the Fair Work Ombudsman — this can be done anonymously. Fair Work investigates and can recover money directly from the employer on your behalf, without you having to face the process alone. This is the most common and least costly path.

Formal letter to your employer — in many cases, a formal letter requesting payment of amounts owed resolves the matter without the need for a formal process. Employers who know they are in the wrong often prefer to pay rather than face an investigation.

Fair Work formal claim — if the employer does not pay voluntarily after being notified, you can initiate a formal process. Fair Work can take the case to a tribunal and seek additional penalties on top of the wages owed.

Small Claims in the Federal Circuit Court — for amounts up to $100,000, the simplified process in the Federal Circuit Court is accessible without a lawyer. Filing costs are low and the procedure is less formal than a regular court.

Wage theft has been a criminal offence since January 2025

From January 2025, intentionally withholding wages became a federal crime in Australia, with sentences of up to 10 years imprisonment for convicted employers. This legislative change significantly increased the pressure on employers who systematically underpay workers.

This does not directly change how you lodge a claim — Fair Work is still the main avenue — but it shifts the negotiating landscape when an employer is notified.

Official sources