IR Minister Christian Porter has congratulated his department and a Government-appointed special purpose liquidator for securing recovery of 100% of entitlements paid by the FEG to former employees of failed Clive Palmer entity Queensland Nickel.
A landmark contempt finding and accompanying jail sentence hailed as proof of the FWO's commitment to justice has been overturned by a full Federal Court that found the ruling judge's "open" hostility to the underpaying employer compromised his ability to consider the evidence.
The CFMMEU says the Federal Court has made an "outrageous decision" in directing that $1m held in a trust fund as a result of a case brought by the union now be shared by all former employees of the liquidated labour hire company One Key Workforce Pty Ltd.
Class action law firm Adero says it believes labour supplier One Key Workforce wound up owing more than 2000 mineworkers on casual contracts far more than the $38 million sum estimated by administrators, as it prepares to file a claim holding its parent company liable as their "true employer".
The Morrison Government has introduced legislation to crack down on "sharp corporate practices" such as phoenix companies and asset-shifting by employers that are seeking to avoid paying employee entitlements.
The voluntary administrators of food delivery business Foodora Australia Pty Ltd say the process will give the company "essential breathing space", which includes a statutory stay on landmark legal proceedings testing whether its riders are employees or contractors.
A full Federal Court led by Chief Justice James Allsop has bolstered a recent decision confirming the right of employees to head the queue for entitlements after the collapse of businesses operating as corporate trustees.
The federal government's efforts to rein in the ballooning costs of its FEG scheme have received a significant boost after an appeal court overturned a ruling that stripped it of priority status in seeking to recover almost $4 million paid to employees of a collapsed company.
Liquidators seeking to recover almost $67 million in taxpayer funds paid to former Queensland Nickel employees have avoided a "chase for Skase" scenario after they yesterday served papers on counsel for holidaying ex-director Clive Palmer and 20 others.
