Thursday, 30 July 2026

 Ellen SANDELL (Melbourne) (17:21): (1755) Tonight I ask the Minister for Industrial Relations to follow up and take action on a serious case of wage theft, which I will outline. Using parliamentary privilege, tonight I raise allegations of stolen wages affecting at least 13 workers who have come to me for help. In 2025 these workers worked at two shops inside Crown Casino, a newsagency named Gazette and a convenience store called Staff Shop, registered under Smokva Holdings and/or MR Trading Pty Ltd and owned by Mr Mark Richerdson. The workers did long shifts, including overnight. They were first paid lawfully, then in cash and then for months not paid at all. One worker came to me and said she worked overnight shifts, 11 pm to 7 am, for three months with no pay. She is owed more than $12,000. When confronted, the manager Mr Maamoun Derbas said the business was in financial difficulty and they would be paid later. It never happened. On 18 October workers received a WhatsApp message saying the business had been sold, and all contact was cut off.

This is not just a case of wage theft. It also exposes serious failures in the system meant to protect workers. These workers tried hard to get help. They contacted a community legal centre set up exactly for this situation, but they could not get an appointment. I also contacted the centre, who told me they were struggling due to lack of government funding. One worker called the Fair Work Ombudsman three times, was on hold for over an hour each time and never got through. My own office then called, and after a long wait we were told we could not report the matter on the worker’s behalf. Both organisations are now helping the workers, which we really appreciate, but what if these workers had not had an MP to advocate for them? Wage theft is supposed to be a crime, but laws mean nothing if they are not enforced. The state Labor government has handed its industrial relations powers to the Commonwealth, but since then there have been zero federal criminal prosecutions for wage theft. We are told that Mr Richerdson has a track record of previous cases, yet he is still able to do what he is doing and continue to exploit people, so the system is clearly not working.

There are also other significant gaps in our laws and our systems meant to protect workers. For example, temporary visa holders like international students – working legally, as these workers were – are not eligible for compensation or protection under the Commonwealth Fair Entitlements Guarantee Act 2012. You have to be a citizen or permanent resident to get that protection and compensation if you are working for a business, you are not paid and then that business folds. Even worse, migrant workers who report wage theft are often then targeted by Australian Border Force, who turn up at that workplace and take action against the employee while the employer walks away scot-free. So I ask the minister to take this on and fix these gaps so that no worker is exploited like the, at least, 13 workers who have come to me who are in this horrible situation.