Employer Won’t Pay You? How to Get Unpaid Wages and Final Pay Back (Australia 2026)
Last updated · Reviewed by the Claim Done team · Not legal advice
Yes. If your employer has not paid your wages, penalty rates, overtime, final pay, leave, redundancy pay or super, you can get it back, usually going back up to 6 years. The Fair Work Act 2009 makes employers pay in full, in money and at least monthly, and gives you a low-cost small claims process for amounts up to $100,000. The route is five steps: ask in writing, send a formal unpaid wages demand, contact the Fair Work Ombudsman, send a final demand, then file a small claim in the Federal Circuit and Family Court or your state’s magistrates or local court.
Can you get unpaid wages back from your employer?
Yes. Most private-sector employees in Australia are covered by the national Fair Work system. Under it, an employer must pay the amounts owed for your work in full, in money and at least monthly (Fair Work Act s 323). That covers base pay, overtime and penalty rates, allowances, loadings, bonuses that are part of your entitlements, and leave payments.
When an employer does not pay, you can:
- ask a court to order the employer to pay what you are owed, plus interest (ss 545, 547);
- use the small claims procedure for amounts up to $100,000, where the process is informal and lawyers need the court’s permission to appear (s 548);
- go back up to 6 years from when each underpayment happened (s 544); and
- get help from the Fair Work Ombudsman, which is free.
Some things your employer cannot do:
- Make deductions you did not agree to. Deductions are only allowed in the cases in s 324, for example where you authorised one in writing and it is mainly for your benefit, or an award, agreement or law allows it.
- Skip your leave loading on termination. The Fair Work Ombudsman says annual leave loading is paid out on termination “even when an award, enterprise agreement or employment contract says that it’s not”, if you would have received it when taking leave.
- Keep your unused annual leave. Untaken annual leave must be paid out when the job ends (s 90(2)).
- Hold your final pay indefinitely. Most awards require final pay within 7 days after your last day.
Deliberately underpaying can now also be a crime. Since 1 January 2025, intentional underpayment of wages or entitlements can be a criminal offence (s 327A), with up to 10 years’ imprisonment for individuals. Honest mistakes are not included. The criminal offence is for the authorities to prosecute; the way you get your money is the civil claim on this page.
The most common pay problems
- Wrong award rate. Paid below the minimum for your award, classification or age. You can claim the difference for every pay period, back up to 6 years.
- No penalty rates or overtime. Weekend, public holiday, late-night or overtime rates not paid. Claim the gap between what you were paid and the award rate for those hours.
- Unpaid final pay. The last pay never arrived after you resigned or were let go. Claim wages for hours worked, accrued annual leave and leave loading.
- No notice or payment in lieu. Dismissed on the spot without notice or pay in lieu. Claim the notice period you should have had (1 to 4 weeks, plus 1 week if you are over 45 with at least 2 years’ service).
- Redundancy pay not paid. Your job was abolished and you were not paid the redundancy amount for your years of service.
- Unpaid super. Super not paid, paid late or paid to the wrong fund. Report it to the ATO, and the Fair Work Ombudsman can help with super under an award above the minimum.
- Illegal deductions. Money taken out of your pay for uniforms, breakages, till shortfalls or “training” without a lawful basis.
- Cash in hand at a flat rate. A flat hourly rate below the award, with no payslips. Your own records of the hours you worked become your evidence.
- The business closed down. If your employer went into liquidation or bankruptcy, the Fair Entitlements Guarantee may pay part of what you are owed.
The Fair Work rules that decide your claim
Final pay
Final pay is made up of wages for hours worked (including penalty rates and allowances) and any annual leave owing, including leave loading where it applies. Depending on how the job ended, it can also include payment in lieu of notice, redundancy pay and long service leave. Sick and carer’s leave is not paid out. Most awards require final pay within 7 days after your last day; where an award or agreement says nothing, the Act requires payment at least monthly. Payment in lieu of notice must be made on or before the day the job ends.
Notice of termination (s 117)
| Continuous service | Minimum notice |
|---|---|
| Not more than 1 year | 1 week |
| More than 1 year, up to 3 years | 2 weeks |
| More than 3 years, up to 5 years | 3 weeks |
| More than 5 years | 4 weeks |
Add 1 week if you are over 45 and have at least 2 years’ continuous service. Casual service does not count towards it.
Redundancy pay (s 119)
| Continuous service | Redundancy pay |
|---|---|
| At least 1 year but less than 2 | 4 weeks |
| 2 to less than 3 years | 6 weeks |
| 3 to less than 4 years | 7 weeks |
| 4 to less than 5 years | 8 weeks |
| 5 to less than 6 years | 10 weeks |
| 6 to less than 7 years | 11 weeks |
| 7 to less than 8 years | 13 weeks |
| 8 to less than 9 years | 14 weeks |
| 9 to less than 10 years | 16 weeks |
| At least 10 years | 12 weeks |
Redundancy pay is at your base rate for ordinary hours. It does not apply if you had less than 12 months’ continuous service, or if the employer is a small business employer, which means it employs fewer than 15 employees (ss 23, 121). There is an exception where a small business is bankrupt or in liquidation in certain circumstances.
Superannuation
The super guarantee rate is 12% (from 1 July 2025). Since 1 July 2026, under Payday Super, employers must pay super on each payday, and it must reach your fund within 7 business days after payday (20 business days in some cases, such as a new employee’s first contribution). If it is missing, report it to the ATO using its “Report unpaid super contributions from my employer” tool. The ATO says it will write to you if it can collect the super, and that not every referral leads to collection. The ATO handles only the super guarantee rate; anything above it, such as under an award, is a matter for the Fair Work Ombudsman.
The 6-year limit
A court can only make an order for an underpayment if you apply within 6 years after the day the underpayment happened (s 544). Each missed payment has its own clock, so the oldest pay periods drop off first. Do not wait.
If your employer went broke
The Fair Entitlements Guarantee (FEG) may cover unpaid wages (up to 13 weeks), annual leave, long service leave, pay in lieu of notice (capped at 5 weeks) and redundancy pay (capped at 4 weeks per full year of service). It does not cover unpaid super. You must lodge an effective claim within 12 months of the later of the day your job ended and the day the employer went into liquidation or bankruptcy.
What you can claim
- The underpaid amount. The difference between what you were paid and what the award, agreement, contract or NES required, for every pay period up to 6 years back.
- Final pay entitlements. Unpaid wages, accrued annual leave and loading, notice pay and redundancy pay.
- Unlawful deductions. Every deduction without a lawful basis.
- Interest. The court must add interest if you ask for it, unless there is good reason not to (s 547). In small claims, interest is on top of the $100,000 limit.
- Your filing fee. In a small claim, the court can order the employer to repay the filing fee you paid (s 548(10)).
Work it out pay period by pay period: the hours you worked, the rate you should have been paid for each kind of hour, and what you actually received. The court asks for a spreadsheet or table showing your calculations, so set it out that way from the start. The Fair Work Ombudsman’s Pay and Conditions Tool helps you find the right award rate.
Worked example (round numbers, for illustration only). A casual cafe worker is paid a flat $25 an hour for 10 Saturday hours and 10 Sunday hours each week for 50 weeks. Suppose the award rates for those hours are $35 on Saturdays and $40 on Sundays. The shortfall is $10 an hour on Saturdays and $15 on Sundays: $250 a week, or $12,500 over 50 weeks. When the job ends, the final week’s pay of $500 is also not paid. The claim is $13,000 plus interest. The real rates for your award will differ; check them for your own claim.
Evidence to gather
- Payslips and bank statements showing every payment.
- Your contract or letter of offer, and the name of the award or enterprise agreement that covers you.
- Rosters, timesheets, sign-in records, and your own diary of hours, or a time-recording app.
- Messages and emails about shifts, pay and the job ending.
- The termination letter or resignation email, with dates.
- Super fund statements, or the contributions shown in your ATO online services.
- The employer’s legal name and ABN, from payslips or ABN Lookup.
- Your calculation table: each pay period, hours by type, rate owed, amount paid, shortfall.
How to get your money back: 5 steps
Step 1: Ask your employer in writing
Talk to your employer or manager first if you can; the Fair Work Ombudsman notes most problems are fixed at the workplace. Then put it in writing: what you are owed, how you worked it out, and a deadline of a few business days. Keep a copy. Even if you have already left the job, writing to the employer is worth doing.
Step 2: Send a formal unpaid wages demand
If the employer says no, stalls or ignores you, send our Unpaid Wages Demand. It sets out the Fair Work Act and the criminal underpayment laws, lists what is owed and how it was calculated, and gives a 14-day deadline before you file a small claim. The Fair Work Ombudsman recommends exactly this: a formal letter that sets out the dispute, the entitlements owed, and notice that a small claim will be made if it is not resolved by a set date.
Send the unpaid wages demand – $49
If the problem is what you were paid when the job ended (final pay, notice, redundancy or long service leave), use the Final Pay, Notice, Redundancy and Long Service Leave Demand instead (see the final pay and redundancy claim page).
Claim your final pay and redundancy – $49
Step 3: Contact the Fair Work Ombudsman
The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) is free. It can give you information and advice on minimum entitlements, and the ATO notes that the FWO may get you to complete a wages and conditions claim form and pursue your entitlements on your behalf, including going to court. Call 13 13 94 or use the FWO website and its My account. Attach your demand letter and your calculation table. The FWO deals with minimum entitlements from the NES, awards and enterprise agreements; for contract entitlements above those, it suggests legal advice. For unpaid super at the guarantee rate, also report it to the ATO.
Step 4: Send the final demand
If you still have not been paid, send a final demand that quotes your first letter, the employer’s response and any FWO reference, and states the date you will file your small claim.
Step 5: File a Fair Work small claim
Unpaid wages under the Fair Work Act do not go to a state consumer tribunal. They go to the Fair Work small claims process in either:
- the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2), Fair Work Division, by filing an Originating Application and Form 5 (Small claim under the Fair Work Act 2009) with your supporting documents; or
- the magistrates or local court in your state or territory (see the table below).
The FCFCOA filing fee from 1 July 2026 is $310 for a claim under $10,000, $500 for $10,000 to $50,000, and $585 for $50,000 to $100,000; concession card holders and people in financial hardship may pay less or nothing. FCFCOA small claims are usually conducted online, and the court offers a free confidential mediation with a Registrar. If the employer does not turn up, you still have to prove your claim with evidence, so bring everything.
Our Hearing Bundle ($97) organises your evidence for the hearing: a chronology, a statement of issues, an evidence index, a position statement and the orders you are asking for. The court’s own application forms are on its website.
Where your claim goes in each state
You can choose the Federal Circuit and Family Court in any state, or the court the Fair Work Ombudsman lists for your state. The small claims limit is $100,000 plus interest in each of them, and the 6-year time limit applies. The Fair Work Ombudsman cannot tell you which court to choose; a community legal centre can help with that.
| State | Court for Fair Work small claims | Money limit | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Any state | Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2), Fair Work Division | $100,000 plus interest | fcfcoa.gov.au |
| NSW | Local Court of New South Wales | $100,000 plus interest | localcourt.nsw.gov.au |
| VIC | Magistrates Court of Victoria | $100,000 plus interest | mcv.vic.gov.au |
| QLD | Industrial Magistrates Court (claims lodged with and conciliated by the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission) | $100,000 plus interest | qirc.qld.gov.au |
| WA | Industrial Magistrates Court of Western Australia | $100,000 plus interest | imc.wa.gov.au |
| SA | See the South Australian Employment Tribunal website | $100,000 plus interest | saet.sa.gov.au |
| TAS | Magistrates Court of Tasmania | $100,000 plus interest | magistratescourt.tas.gov.au |
| ACT | ACT Magistrates Court | $100,000 plus interest | courts.act.gov.au |
| NT | NT Local Court | $100,000 plus interest | localcourt.nt.gov.au |
Western Australia. If your employer is a sole trader, partnership or other business that is not a company, you may be in the WA state system rather than the national one. The ATO notes the national system covers people employed in WA by a company or under a federal award or agreement. If you are not sure which system you are in, ask the Fair Work Ombudsman before you file.
A different problem: dismissal. If you want to challenge the dismissal itself (unfair dismissal or general protections), that goes to the Fair Work Commission and the deadline is only 21 days after the dismissal took effect. Your unpaid wages claim can run separately.
After you win: getting paid
A small claims order is a court order. If the employer still does not pay, it can be enforced like any judgment: a garnishee order on the employer’s bank account or on money owed to it, seizure and sale of property, or an examination of the employer about its finances. If the business has gone into liquidation, the Fair Entitlements Guarantee may pay part of what you are owed.
Tribunals do not collect the money for you. In NSW, Victoria, Queensland, the ACT and the NT, an unpaid tribunal money order is first registered, recorded or filed with a court. In WA, SA and Tasmania the Magistrates Court decides the claim, so you already have a court judgment. Then you apply for the court’s enforcement tools.
| State | How the order becomes enforceable | Garnishee: bank account and wages | Other options |
|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | Get a certified copy of the NCAT order (no fee) and register it with the Local Court (filing fee applies) | Yes: Form 69 with Form 70 (bank) or Form 71 (wages); no filing fee | Writ for the levy of property (Forms 65, 66); examination notice (Form 51 or 52) |
| VIC | Ask VCAT to have the order recorded at the Magistrates’ Court | Yes: attachment of debt (Form 71A or 71B); attachment of earnings (Forms 72A, 72B, with a hearing) | Warrant to seize property (Form 68A); oral examination (Form 67A); instalment order |
| QLD | File the QCAT order and an affidavit with a court (the Magistrates Court up to $150,000) within six years; free | Yes: enforcement warrant for redirection of debt (Form 76 or 77) or of earnings (Form 78), with Forms 9 and 74 | Seizure and sale (Form 75); enforcement hearing |
| ACT | File the sealed ACAT order and an affidavit in the Magistrates Court, serve Form 2.49, wait 7 days | Yes: debt redirection (Form 2.62 or 2.63); earnings redirection (Form 2.64) | Seizure and sale (Form 2.59); enforcement hearing (Forms 2.50, 2.51) |
| NT | Register the NTCAT order with the Local Court (certified copy and affidavit; no fee) | Yes: attachment of debts order; attachment of earnings order with a protected earnings rate | Warrant of seizure and sale; examination summons; charging order |
| WA | Already a court judgment; apply with Form 6 and the fee | Yes: debt appropriation order (Form 6, Form 2 affidavit); earnings appropriation order (individuals only, after an instalment order is broken) | Property (seizure and sale) order; means inquiry |
| SA | Already a court judgment; start through CourtSA, Enforcement tab | Yes: garnishee order (draft Form 148); wages protected to 90% of the weekly national minimum wage | Warrant of sale (Form 163); investigation or examination summons |
| TAS | Already a court judgment; file enforcement process at the registry ($49) | Yes: provisional, then final, garnishee order attaching a debt or earnings | Warrant to sell property; judgment summons and oral examination |
Before you start enforcement, a final demand that quotes the order and the court’s enforcement options often gets the money paid.
Questions people ask
How far back can I claim unpaid wages?
Up to 6 years. Under s 544 of the Fair Work Act, a court can make an order only if you apply within 6 years after the day the underpayment happened. Each missed payment has its own 6-year clock, so the oldest pay periods are the first to drop off. Start with a written demand now rather than waiting.
How long does an employer have to pay final pay?
Most awards require final pay within 7 days after your last day of employment. If your award or enterprise agreement has no rule, the Fair Work Act requires payment at least monthly. Payment in lieu of notice must be made on or before the day your employment ends. Check your award for the exact rule.
Is unpaid wages a crime in Australia?
Intentional underpayment can be. Since 1 January 2025, an employer who intentionally fails to pay wages or entitlements in full can commit a criminal offence under s 327A of the Fair Work Act, with up to 10 years’ imprisonment for individuals. Honest mistakes are not included. Our Unpaid Wages Demand refers to these laws when it asks for payment.
What is the maximum for a Fair Work small claim?
$100,000. In small claims proceedings the court cannot award more than $100,000, but interest is added on top and does not count towards the limit. Claims can be filed in the Federal Circuit and Family Court or in your state or territory’s magistrates or local court. For more than $100,000 you would need the ordinary court process, not small claims.
How much does it cost to file a small claim for unpaid wages?
In the Federal Circuit and Family Court, from 1 July 2026, the filing fee is $310 for a claim under $10,000, $500 for $10,000 to $50,000 and $585 for $50,000 to $100,000. Concession card holders and people in hardship may pay less or nothing. If you win, the court can order the employer to repay your filing fee.
Can the Fair Work Ombudsman get my money back for me?
Sometimes. The FWO is free and gives advice on minimum entitlements. It may ask you to complete a wages and conditions claim form and pursue your entitlements on your behalf, including in court, but it does not act as your lawyer in every case. Call 13 13 94. Send your employer a formal demand first so you have a paper trail.
Do I need a lawyer for a Fair Work small claim?
No. The small claims process is informal, the court is not bound by the rules of evidence, and a party can only be represented by a lawyer with the court’s permission. You present your own claim with your payslips, records and calculations. Free help is available from community legal centres.
My employer did not pay my super. What can I do?
Report it to the ATO using its “Report unpaid super contributions from my employer” tool, after checking your fund statements. Since 1 July 2026 super must reach your fund within 7 business days after payday. Super above the guarantee rate, such as under an award, is a matter for the Fair Work Ombudsman, and small claims can also cover unpaid super.
Do I get redundancy pay from a small business?
Usually not under the National Employment Standards. Redundancy pay does not apply if the employer is a small business employer, meaning it has fewer than 15 employees, or if you had less than 12 months’ continuous service. There is an exception if the small business is bankrupt or in liquidation in certain circumstances. Your award or contract may give more.
My employer went into liquidation. Can I still get paid?
Possibly, through the Fair Entitlements Guarantee. It can cover unpaid wages up to 13 weeks, annual leave, long service leave, notice pay up to 5 weeks and redundancy pay up to 4 weeks per full year of service. It does not cover super. Claim within 12 months of the later of your job ending and the liquidation or bankruptcy.
Can my employer deduct money from my final pay?
Only in limited cases. A deduction is allowed if you authorised it in writing and it is mainly for your benefit, or it is authorised by your enterprise agreement, award, a Fair Work Commission order or a law. Some awards allow an employer to withhold pay if you did not give enough notice of resignation. Other deductions can be claimed back.
What should a letter to my employer about unpaid wages say?
It should name your employer and its ABN, list what is owed and how you calculated it (pay period, hours, rate owed, amount paid), cite the award or agreement, and give a deadline with notice that you will file a small claim. Our Final Pay and Redundancy Demand and Unpaid Wages Demand are written in that format. See also how to write a letter of demand.
Sources
- Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), compilation in force from 7 July 2026, ss 12, 23, 90, 117, 119, 121, 323, 324, 327A, 366, 394, 544, 545, 547, 548: legislation.gov.au
- Fair Work Ombudsman, About the small claims court, Final pay, Criminalising wage underpayments
- Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, Fair work: Small claims, Fair work: I want to apply, Fees (from 1 July 2026)
- Queensland Industrial Relations Commission, Wage recovery and long service leave
- Australian Taxation Office, Unpaid super from your employer, Super guarantee rates, Payment deadlines for Payday Super
- Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, Fair Entitlements Guarantee, Making a FEG claim
All sources checked 19 October 2026.
Claim Done is not a law firm and does not give legal advice. This page is general information. For a complex or high-value matter, speak to a lawyer or a free community legal centre.