‘Historic, gender-based undervaluation’ facing childcare workers

The Fair Work Ombudsman has again commenced legal action for the alleged underpayment of workers in a sector seemingly subject to a concerning trend.

The regulator is seeking more than $2 million from G8 Education for the alleged underpayment of minimum wage rates, overtime entitlements, loadings, first aid allowance, and incorrect application of individual flexibility arrangements (IFAs) to over 1,400 workers.

Alleged violations of the IFAs included failure to correctly identify the award being adjusted or to provide the signature of both parties.

According to Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) Anna Booth, “it is crucial for employers that any individual flexibility arrangements leave employees better off overall”.

Of the total sum, $1.03 million is being sought for workers under the Children’s Services Award 2010, and $1.05 million for workers not paid entitlements in connection with the IFA.

Alleged to have occurred between June 2020 and July 2022, the back payments being sought in court range from approximately $50 to more than $15,000 for those under the Children Services Award 2010, and between approximately $100 to over $6,000 for compensation sought for those impacted by the alleged IFA violations, which allegedly increased ordinary hours from eight to 10 without the addition of overtime.

All employees worked in childcare centres as children’s services employees or support workers, with some of the alleged affected workers aged under 20.

“It is completely unacceptable for large, well-resourced corporate employers to allegedly underpay hard-working childcare workers’ basic minimum entitlements,” Booth said.

G8 Education – reportedly one of the country’s biggest for-profit operators of childcare and early learning – first self-reported non-compliance issues, sparking a FWO investigation.

“The Fair Work Ombudsman receives a high rate of requests for assistance from employees in the childcare sector,” an FWO spokesperson said.

The spokesperson further noted that pay rates as dedicated in the Children’s Services Award – which took effect from 1 March 2026 – have been recognised as “subject to [historical] gender-based undervaluation”.

As reported earlier this year, a Greenacre childcare centre was penalised more than $45,000 after failing to comply with a court-ordered backpay fulfilment, with the FWO acknowledging it has “litigated against multiple childcare employers” in this way.

In the same vein, the FWO spokesperson noted numerous cases of other high-level enforcement action involving childcare operators, including enforceable undertakings.

The spokesperson furthered: “Across all sectors, the Fair Work Ombudsman recovered $358 million for more than 249,000 underpaid workers in 2024–25, taking back payments to workers to more than $2 billion across the last five years.”

The FWO is seeking court-ordered payment rectification, plus superannuation and interest.

G8 Education also faces a $66,000 penalty per IFA contravention, as well as further penalties for contraventions under the aforementioned award.

Proceedings have been filed in the Federal Court in Brisbane, with a court date yet to be listed as of 8 July.

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