Underpaid, or your employer withholding wages? Here's what to do.
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Wage underpayment ranges from an honest payroll error to an employer deliberately paying below the legal minimum. Either way, your award, enterprise agreement, or contract, whichever sets the higher minimum, is what actually determines what you're owed, not what you agreed to informally.
This might be your situation if
- Your pay doesn't seem to match your award's base rate, penalty rates, or allowances.
- Your employer is withholding wages entirely, or delaying payment without a clear reason.
- You were asked to accept a flat rate that turns out to be below the legal minimum once penalty rates are factored in.
- Your final pay, after leaving a job, hasn't been paid correctly or at all.
Tell us your role, your pay, and what award or agreement (if any) applies, and we'll help you understand whether you're being paid correctly.
Common questions
That's a strong signal it's worth getting help. Formal options exist through the Fair Work Ombudsman and the courts, but it's worth having the amount confirmed and attempting direct resolution first.
Generally no, you can't contract out of your award or the National Employment Standards minimums. A clause agreeing to less than the legal minimum usually isn't enforceable.
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