The Court imposed aggregate penalties of $35,308 (approximately 88% of the combined maximum of $39,960) against a sole director personally liable for Fair Work Act contraventions involving 16 employees and $148,812.82 in underpayments, where the respondent had prior contraventions through the same company, engaged in apparent Phoenix-style restructuring, demonstrated no contrition, and refused to cooperate with the regulator or the Court. The Court held that penalties at 95% of the maximum were warranted for the wages and annual leave contraventions given the totality of aggravating factors, and that the proportionality between the penalty amount and the underpayment amount is irrelevant — the relevant relationship is between the theoretical maximum penalty and the penalty imposed, assessed through the lens of deterrence.
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