Sonali TiwaryThe Federal Court of Australia has ordered Qantas to pay a record A$90 million penalty for illegally outsourcing 1,820 ground handling jobs in 2020, marking one of the largest penalties ever imposed under the Fair Work Act.
Justice Michael Lee set the penalty at 75% of the maximum possible fine of approximately A$121 million, with A$50 million directed to the Transport Workers’ Union (TWU) and the remaining A$40 million allocation to be decided at a future hearing.
The penalty comes after years of litigation following Qantas’s 2020 decision to outsource baggage handling, cleaning, and ground operations roles during the pandemic – a move the court previously ruled was unlawfully motivated by preventing employees from exercising workplace rights.
Justice Lee criticized Qantas’s apology as “the wrong kind of sorry” and condemned the airline’s “unrelenting and aggressive litigation strategy” throughout the proceedings.
The A$90 million penalty is separate from the approximately A$120 million in compensation Qantas agreed to pay affected workers in December 2024 after exhausting appeals all the way to the High Court of Australia, which ruled against the airline in September 2023.
In his judgment, Justice Lee raised concerns about leadership accountability and what he termed “performative remorse.” He questioned former CEO Alan Joyce’s claimed non-involvement and noted current CEO Vanessa Hudson’s decision not to take the witness stand during proceedings.
The court also criticized Qantas’s documentation practices, including the use of lawyers in routine documents, inadequate contemporaneous notes, and what appeared to be carefully drafted records.
Following the ruling, Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson issued a statement accepting the penalty and apologizing to the 1,820 affected workers and their families, claiming operational changes over the past 18 months.
TWU National Secretary Michael Kaine called the outcome significant after a five-year legal battle, describing it as a clear message to employers about worker rights and accountability.
This penalty follows other recent legal issues for Qantas, including an approximately A$100 million ACCC penalty in May 2024 over selling tickets for canceled flights (the “ghost flights” case) and a November 2023 Federal Court finding that Qantas unlawfully stood down a worker who raised COVID-19 safety concerns.
For affected workers, compensation payments are proceeding separately from this penalty. Workers should check the official TWU case hub and Qantas-issued claim information for status updates, while keeping records of termination letters, pay slips, employment dates, and correspondence.
The Federal Court will hold another hearing to determine the allocation of the remaining A$40 million portion of the penalty.
