The Court declared that the first defendant company contravened ss 13 and 14 of the Labour Hire Licensing Act 2018 (Vic) by providing and advertising labour hire services without a licence over approximately 2.5 years, earning $2.66 million, and that the second defendant (sole director) was knowingly concerned in the s 13 contraventions and personally contravened s 14. Penalties of $750,000 (company) and $80,000 (individual) were imposed after applying the totality principle, notwithstanding both defendants' inability to pay, on the basis that general deterrence would otherwise be undermined. The Court declined to apply the Blatch v Archer principle to infer underpayment of workers or non-payment of PAYG tax where those matters were not pleaded, but did find established loss through unpaid superannuation and exploitation of vulnerable migrant workers.
The full text is available to signed-in members.