FWO recovers $453 million as proactive investigations surge
On 14 September 2026, the Fair Work Ombudsman (“FWO”) announced that it recovered $453 million in unpaid wages and entitlements for more than 181,000 workers in FY2025-26, marking a significant increase in both recoveries and proactive enforcement activity.
This figure represents a 27% increase on the previous financial year, when the FWO recovered approximately $358 million in unpaid entitlements. Over the past six financial years, almost $2.5 billion has been back-paid to Australian workers in connection with the FWO’s efforts.
While the headline recovery figure is significant, the FWO’s latest results also provide some useful indications of where its compliance and enforcement strategy is heading.
This Insight sets out some of the key features of the FWO’s recent media release.
Large employers remain firmly in focus
Close to half of all recoveries in FY2025-26 came from large corporate employers. Interim figures show $217.3 million was recovered for more than 110,000 workers in that sector alone.
During the year, the FWO completed 1,161 matters involving large corporates, comprising 1,051 disputes, 73 proactive matters and 37 self-reports. It also entered into an enforceable undertaking with Westpac and issued 23 compliance notices and 13 infringement notices to large corporate employers.
These figures reinforce the FWO’s longstanding expectation that large employers have sufficiently sophisticated governance and payroll systems to identify, investigate and remediate compliance issues.
A significant increase in proactive investigations
Perhaps the more notable development is the substantial expansion of the FWO’s proactive enforcement activity.
The regulator confirmed that it conducted more than 2,680 proactive investigations in FY2025-26 – an increase of 86% from the previous year. Those investigations resulted in recoveries exceeding $45 million for 13,803 workers, compared with $35.2 million recovered through proactive activity the previous year.
This reflects an increasingly intelligence-led approach under which employers do not necessarily need to be the subject of an employee complaint before attracting regulatory attention.
The FWO says its proactive investigations are concentrated in priority sectors and are intended not merely to identify individual contraventions, but to uncover the underlying drivers of non-compliance and achieve sustained change.
Priority industries continue to attract scrutiny
Building and construction and disability support services were among the sectors receiving particular attention.
More than $6.8 million was recovered for 932 building and construction workers, with almost 3,000 matters completed and 14 new litigations commenced.
In disability support services, the FWO recovered almost $24 million for 10,546 workers, completed more than 1,000 disputes and issued 53 compliance notices. Its broader Disability Support Services Inquiry, commenced in July 2025, also remains underway.
Key takeaways for employers
These results provide another reminder that payroll compliance is increasingly a governance and risk-management issue, and that compliance and enforcement area is not showing any signs of slowing down.
For employers – particularly large organisations and those operating in priority industries – the practical message is to identify problems before the regulator does. Regular payroll reviews, clear ownership of compliance, effective escalation processes and prompt remediation of identified errors will remain important safeguards.
With proactive investigations almost doubling in a single year, relying on the absence of employee complaints will not be an adequate compliance strategy.
Cowell Clarke is pleased to offer its RemCheck service to organisations that wish to obtain peace of mind by confirming their payroll compliance. Our Employment & Workplace Relations Team can also provide advice should you have any queries or concerns. Contact Cassie Burfoot, Director, or Jemma Andretzke, Associate for further information.