Horticulture Industry Inspections

#employmentrights #fairwork #fairworkombudsman #hr #national #nsw #sa #tas #vic #wa Jul 08, 2025

Are you in the Horticulture industry? The Fair Work Ombudsman has announced key regions of non-compliance and will be conducting follow‑up inspections targeting the most non‑compliant regions commencing immediately.

Background

The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) launched a three‑year “Horticulture Strategy 2021–24” focused on workplace compliance across 15 regional “hotspot” horticulture zones. Inspectors visited around 360 farms and investigated 512 businesses, issuing over $760,000 in fines for pay slip and record‑keeping failures and recovering $384,168 in underpaid wages.

Common breaches include cash‑in‑hand payments, lack of pay slips, poor record‑keeping, and confusion about employer identity.

Regions In the Spotlight

FWO will revisit the five poorest‑performing areas - Riverina, Mornington Peninsula, Yarra Valley, Sunraysia, Shepparton, Coffs Harbour and Grafton - in a two‑year campaign focusing on labour‑hire firms.

Following this, they’ll be looking into several other regions such as North/North-West Tasmania; Queensland’s Lockyer Valley, Moreton Bay, Stanthorpe, Sunshine Coast, Whitsunday Coast, and Wide Bay; South Australia’s Adelaide and Adelaide Hills; and South-West WA.

Next Steps

For Employers, we recommend we plan ahead now and ensure compliance. Contact us at [email protected] to make sure you’re not caught off guard should you be tapped on the shoulder for an audit from FW.

For Employees, it’s a great reminder to know your rights and know the resources available to you should they be breached. Migrant, working‑holiday, and visa‑holder employees are particularly vulnerable although everyone in the Horticulture industry should be aware of the protections given to them by FW. Unsure what these might be? Drop us a line at [email protected] to work through your Award and what it means.

Author: RG (Employii Human Resources)

Horticulture Industry Inspections

Background

Regions In the Spotlight

Next Steps

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