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yesterday

Qantas Hit With $90 Million Penalty Over Illegal 2020 Outsourcing

The ruling brings Qantas’s total known legal expense for the outsourcing dispute to over $200 million.

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FILE - A Qantas Boeing 737 passenger plane takes off from Sydney Airport, Australia, Sept. 5, 2022. (AP Photo/Mark Baker, File)
Workers can be seen near Qantas Airways, Australia's national carrier, Boeing 737-800 aircraft on the tarmac at Adelaide Airport, Australia, August 22, 2018. REUTERS/David Gray/File Photo

Overview

  • The Federal Court found Qantas breached the Fair Work Act by outsourcing more than 1,800 baggage handlers, cleaners and ground staff in 2020 to curb union bargaining power.
  • Justice Michael Lee imposed a $90 million civil penalty, directing $50 million to the Transport Workers’ Union and reserving $40 million for future worker compensation.
  • This penalty follows a December 2024 agreement in which Qantas paid $120 million in compensation to the sacked workers.
  • Lee described Qantas’s apology as the “wrong kind of sorry,” questioned the sincerity of its remorse and highlighted former CEO Alan Joyce’s central role in the decision.
  • Awarding half the fine to the TWU recognises the union’s financial risk in pursuing the case and aims to strengthen enforcement under the Fair Work Act.