Goulburn Valley fruit grower R J Cornish & Co. Pty Ltd underpaid staff almost $127k

A prominent Goulburn Valley fruit grower made unlawful wage deductions of nearly $127,000 from more than 100 employees.

Goulburn Valley fruit grower R J Cornish Pty Ltd were nabbed underpaying their staff nearly $127,000. Picture: Zoe Phillips

A Goulburn Valley fruit growing company underpaid its staff to the tune of nearly $127,000 for almost seven years.

R J Cornish and Co. Pty Ltd was caught making unlawful wage deductions after a surprise visit from Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) inspectors in March 2024.

FWO inspectors found the company had made unlawful deductions from their employees wages between July 2017 and June 2024.

The company admitted to wrongfully deducting a total of $126,859 from 112 of their employees wages.

R J Cornish has signed a Enforceable Undertaking (EU) as a result of the wage theft in order to improve their workplace compliance.

The company has made almost all its back-payments, but still owes $3610 for four employees.

R J Cornish grow peaches, pears, apples, lemons and oranges in Cobram and Muckatah.

The company grows peaches, apples, pears, lemons and oranges in Cobram and Muckatah. Picture: Zoe Phillips

Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth said the agriculture sector remains a priority area and

employers are on notice to ensure they are meeting all their workers’ lawful entitlements.

“The agriculture sector is a focus for the FWO, as many vulnerable workers such as visa

holders and young people are employed at farms and orchards,” Ms Booth said.

“The FWO has recovered more than $1.5m in unpaid wages for 755 agriculture sector

workers since December 2021.

“In this matter, we welcome the company’s co-operation with our investigation, and their

commitment to both rectify the deduction amounts in full and put in place a range of

measures to ensure current and future hardworking employees are paid everything they

are owed.

“Deductions from wages are lawful in only a limited range of situations, and employers must

understand those laws or they can be caught out.

“We have a range of information to help employers get it right.”