Concerning practices found in ATO, FWO sweep of Gold Coast eateries

A sweeping review of Gold Coast food outlets by the ATO and FWO has revealed numerous concerning practices, the ATO has said.

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) have conducted a sweep of Gold Coast eateries to ensure businesses are paying their employees correctly and complying with record-keeping, tax, and super laws.

The FWO and ATO inspected 25 eateries based on tips, including anonymous employee reports, a history of non-compliance or employment of vulnerable workers.

“Fast-food outlets, cafés and restaurants operating in the shadow economy deliberately disadvantage honest businesses, short-change the community and steal from their employees’ futures,” ATO assistant commissioner Tony Goding said.

Goding added that the operation, dubbed Operation Crimson, had revealed numerous concerning practices. He warned businesses that significant penalties could apply for misconduct.

“If you run a business, take this as your warning that you can’t get away with exploiting your workers or ripping off the community,” he said.

“At the ATO, we have a range of sophisticated methods to detect shadow economy activities, and we also work closely with our partner agencies like the Fair Work Ombudsman to catch out those doing the wrong thing, including regularly sharing intelligence and community tip-offs.”

Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth said the hospitality sector remained a priority for them, ensuring that workers were paid correctly and businesses met record-keeping obligations.

“Improving compliance with workplace laws in the fast-food, restaurants and cafés industry is a priority for us, as the sector employs many workers who can be vulnerable to exploitation, such as visa holders and young people,” she said.

“These Gold Coast inspections combine first-time visits to many employers and revisits to some others, and are part of our efforts to ensure any who are doing the wrong thing are found out and held to account.”

The FWO and ATO said their investigations throughout the hospitality sector would continue. Previously, the FWO recovered over $215,700 in wages for nearly 450 underpaid workers during a 2020 sweep of 50 Gold Coast eateries.

The investigators found that a whopping 88 per cent of these businesses were non-compliant with workplace laws.

In 2024–25, the FWO secured over $16 million in court-ordered penalties against employers in the hospitality sector. This included its largest penalty ever, a $15.3 million fine against the former operators of Sushi Bay outlets for deliberately exploiting migrant workers.

The regulator urged workers to come forward if they suspect their employer was being non-compliant, noting that the FWO accepts anonymous tips. The ATO also linked its tip-off page for those wanting to report suspected tax evasion and shadow-economy behaviour.

Emma Partis

Emma Partis is a journalist at HR Leader. Previously, Emma worked as a News Intern with Bloomberg News' economics and government team in Sydney. She studied econometrics and psychology at UNSW.