The Wage Theft Act 2020 (Vic) (the “Act”) came into force in Victoria from 1 July 2021. It holds employers, directors, and officers criminally liable for non-payment or underpayment of wages or other entitlements, or for falsifying or failing to keep an appropriate record of employee entitlements. 

 The Act applies to employee entitlements and criminalises:  

• deliberately and dishonestly underpaying employees, 
• deliberately and dishonestly withholding wages, superannuation or other employee entitlements, 
• falsifying employee entitlement records to gain a financial advantage, and 
• avoiding keeping employee entitlement records to gain a financial advantage. 

Breaching these provisions attracts penalties of up to $1,090,440 for companies, while individuals can face a fine of up to $218,088 or a maximum of 10 years’ imprisonment. 

Under the Act, it is possible for employers to be held liable for the actions of an officer or board of directors if the employer has expressly or impliedly given permission for the prohibited conduct, or where corporate culture has enabled the conduct. Officers or directors may be held personally liable regardless of whether an employer is prosecuted.  

The Act provides a defence where an employer, officer or director exercised due diligence to prevent the offence from occurring.