Australia
Verified figures: penalty quantum published and sourced against statute, regulator and case law.
Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (record-keeping duty FWA + Fair Work Regulations; Right to Disconnect s.333M); Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes No. 2) Act 2024, s.327A (criminal wage theft, in force 1 Jan 2025); Privacy Act 1988 (Australian Privacy Principles); enforced by Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO); Fair Work Commission handles RtD / unfair dismissal; FWO refers criminal matters to CDPP/AFP. NOTE: NOT a CCOO/GDPR jurisdiction.
The Fair Work Act and Fair Work Regulations require time-and-wages records (hours, pay, entitlements) kept for seven years, accessible to Fair Work inspectors on request. Falsifying records is itself an offence and an aggravating factor in prosecutions, so tamper-evident, court-auditable records are a core element of employer defence against both civil underpayment claims and the criminal wage-theft regime.
Criminal wage theft since 1 Jan 2025 (s.327A), requires intent (honest errors stay civil): companies face the greater of 3× the underpayment or ~AUD 8.25M; individuals up to 10 years' imprisonment and/or the greater of 3× or AUD 1.565M; matters referred to CDPP/AFP. Civil regime runs in parallel with a 6-year limitation. FWO FY2024-25 annual report: AUD 358M recovered for ~249,000 workers (~AUD 1,438/worker); AUD 2B+ over five years to 2024-25; record court penalties AUD 23.7M in one year; complaints up 34% in the first six months of the new regime. Unpaid superannuation now counts as wage theft, affects ~1 in 4 workers, ~AUD 6B/year. Precedent: FWO v Sushi Bay (Aug 2024) AUD 15.3M for underpaying 163 workers plus falsifying records ('calculated and audacious', Katzmann J). Small Business Wage Compliance Code shields employers with <15 employees; larger employers can seek cooperation agreements.
Employers in Australia are subject to the WTD working-time recording obligation and the CJEU C-55/18 standard requiring an objective, reliable, and accessible recording system. An editable HRIS export does not meet this standard. //AIRGAPT produces a hardware-signed, employer-unalterable evidence chain that is designed to meet it.
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