Addressing corporate misuse of the Fair Entitlements Guarantee discussion paper (link)

Click here to download the full submission.

The Fair Entitlement Guarantee (FEG) is a scheme that provides workers who lose their job due to employer insolvency or bankruptcy with financial assistance to recover some unpaid entitlements. This includes unpaid wages, accrued leave, and redundancy pay. It provides a critical safety net for workers during what can be a financially difficult time. Currently, temporary visa holders are excluded from the FEG scheme.

Without coverage under the FEG, many of these workers—who often struggle to access legal assistance—have limited options to recover their unpaid wages and entitlements when their employer becomes insolvent.

Recommendation 1: Implement Recommendation 13 of the Migrant Workers’ Taskforce Report (2019) to extend the coverage of the FEG to temporary migrant workers.

Recommendation 2: Add unpaid superannuation to the list of entitlements covered by the FEG.

Recommendation 3: Implement the Migrant Justice Institute’s recommendation to establish a guarantee scheme in the small claims context to ensure that any worker with a court order in their favour receives their lawful entitlements if the employer disappears or refuses to pay.