Overview

• The Federal Court consolidated four proceedings from Adero Law and the Fair Work Ombudsman and found the chains failed to keep required records for salaried staff, including overtime, rosters and clock‑in data.
• About 30,000 current and former employees are in scope, with Fair Work alleging 19,000 at Woolworths and 8,768 at Coles were underpaid.
• Woolworths estimates $180–$330 million in initial remediation with the total payout possibly reaching $530 million, and it has already repaid more than $486 million.
• Coles forecasts $150–$250 million including interest and on‑costs, reports $31 million repaid with a further $50 million to come, and cautions it may appeal.
• A case management hearing is set for October 27 to address how compensation will be quantified and distributed.