Unpaid Wages in Australia: Cost and Your Options

If your employer has not paid your wages, overtime, or entitlements like annual leave or
redundancy, you have a legal right to recover what you are owed — and you generally have up to six years to do
it. You have three real options: get free help from the Fair Work Ombudsman and act yourself, have a formal
letter of demand drafted for a flat $49, or use a lawyer or your union. This page sets out what
each costs and the honest trade-offs.

Your three options, compared by type

1. Fair Work Ombudsman and do it yourself (free)

The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) is the free government body that helps employees recover unpaid wages. You can
raise it with your employer, use the FWO’s help and complaint process, and if it is not resolved, lodge a Fair
Work small claim in the Federal Circuit and Family Court — a simpler, lower-cost process for amounts up to
$100,000.

• Cost: free to get FWO help; a modest court filing fee applies to a small claim, which can
  be reduced or waived in cases of hardship.
• Good for: a straightforward underpayment where you are comfortable dealing with the
  employer and the FWO process yourself.
• Trade-offs: the FWO cannot always recover the money for you, and you prepare and put your
  own case. A clear, formal written demand is still the step that often gets you paid before any of this.

2. Letter of demand drafted — Claim Done ($49 flat)

You answer a few plain-English questions about your job and what you are owed. Claim Done drafts a formal
letter of demand to your employer from your answers — the unpaid amount, what it is for, the legal basis under
the Fair Work Act, and a deadline to pay. You read it and approve it before it is sent. A letter of demand is the
recognised step before escalating, and it often gets you paid without going further.

• Cost: a flat $49, shown before you pay. No subscription. Email delivery is
  free; registered post, signed for on delivery, is $29 extra.
• Exact deliverable: a finished, ready-to-send letter of demand to your employer, drafted
  from your facts, stating what you are owed and why, with a clear deadline.
• Turnaround: usually ready about five minutes after you finish the questions.
• What you supply: where you worked, the period, what you are owed and roughly how it is made
  up (wages, overtime, leave, notice or redundancy), and any payslips or dates. You do not need to know the law.
• What happens after you approve it: the letter is delivered to your employer, and you get a
  copy and the delivery confirmation. If it does not get you paid, you still have it as part of your case at the
  FWO or in a small claim.
• Good for: most people who want a correct, firm demand that may get them paid quickly,
  without paying lawyer rates.

3. Lawyer or union (quote-based or membership)

An employment lawyer can advise you and act for you, and if you are a union member, your union may help recover
unpaid wages at no extra cost.

• Cost: a lawyer is quoted by the firm, usually hourly; union help is part of your membership.
• Good for: large or complex underpayments, a long period, or where the employer disputes it
  and you want someone to run the claim.
• Trade-offs: a lawyer is the highest cost; for a straightforward amount the fee can be out of
  proportion to what is owed, which is why many people start with the FWO or a letter of demand.

Which should you choose?

If you are comfortable dealing with it yourself, the Fair Work Ombudsman’s help is free. If you want a correct,
firm letter of demand that often gets you paid quickly, the $49 option is the middle path. If the amount is large
or the employer is fighting it, a lawyer or your union is worth it. In every case, act within the six-year window.

What a wage demand is — and is not

A letter of demand for unpaid wages is a formal written claim to your employer for what you are owed, with a
deadline. It creates a dated record that you asked, which helps if you escalate to the Fair Work Ombudsman or a
small claim. It does not, by itself, force payment, and it is separate from an unfair dismissal claim — this is
about money you are owed, not about losing your job.

Where Claim Done fits

Claim Done is a document drafting service, not a law firm, and does not give legal advice. It drafts your letter
of demand for unpaid wages from your answers for a flat $49, you approve it before it is sent, and it does not run
a Fair Work claim or represent you.
Start your unpaid wages demand.

Frequently asked questions