Fair Work compliance notice: how long you have and how to fund the back-pay

The letter has the Fair Work Ombudsman’s name on it, a table of employees and a total at the bottom. Somewhere on page one there’s a date. Everything else in this guide hangs off that date.

A compliance notice isn’t a prosecution. It’s the Ombudsman offering you the chance to fix the problem without going to court. That makes it the best moment to act, and it’s also the moment when cash is usually the problem. Here’s how to read the notice, protect your position and fund the back-pay.

What is a Fair Work compliance notice?

It’s a written notice issued by a Fair Work inspector, under section 716 of the Fair Work Act 2009, when they reasonably believe a workplace law has been contravened. It typically sets out:

• which employees and which obligations are involved (wages, penalty rates, leave, super-related entitlements and so on);
• what you must do to fix it, usually pay the shortfall and give the inspector evidence that you have;
• the date by which that must happen;
• how to apply to a court for a review, and what can happen if you don’t comply.

The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) describes these as a way to resolve breaches without litigation. Its own examples use windows such as 14 or 28 days, so treat any number you’ve read elsewhere as a guide only. Your notice’s date is the only one that counts.

Which Fair Work letter do I actually have?

Business owners often lump every FWO letter together. They’re different stages with different clocks.

Stage	What it is	What it asks	Your clock
Request for records or information	Early inquiry, no finding yet	Pay records, rosters, contracts	The date in the request
Compliance notice	Inspector believes a breach occurred	Fix it, usually pay back-pay and show evidence	The due date on the notice
Enforceable undertaking	Negotiated written commitment	Agreed repayment and compliance steps	As agreed
Court proceedings	FWO has sued	Respond to the claim	Court timetable

If yours says “compliance notice” in the heading, you’re at the second row. Nothing has gone to court, and you still control the outcome.

What does complying actually get you?

The FWO’s guidance is clear on two points. If you comply by the due date and give the inspector the evidence they ask for, it can’t take further action over the breaches covered in the notice. And complying isn’t an admission that the contraventions occurred.

That’s a strong position for a business owner. A short, one-off payment closes the matter. It also stops the amounts from compounding while you argue about them.

Can I challenge the notice instead?

Yes, and sometimes you should. An employer can apply to a court (the Federal Court, the Federal Circuit and Family Court, or an eligible state or territory court) to review the notice. The grounds are that the contraventions didn’t occur, or that the notice doesn’t comply with the Act’s requirements. The FWO advises taking legal advice and applying before the due date.

Two honest cautions:

1. The burden sits with you. In Jats Joint v Fair Work Ombudsman [2025] FCA 743, the Federal Court dealt with an employer’s application to set aside a compliance notice. Employers who make that application have to show the contraventions didn’t happen, or that the notice falls short of the statutory requirements.
2. A challenge doesn’t pay anyone. If your own records show staff were underpaid, a review costs time and legal fees and doesn’t change the sum. A lawyer can tell you whether your grounds are real. If they aren’t, put your energy into the money.

How do I work out what I owe?

Before you can fund anything, you need a figure you trust. Build it in an evening:

1. Take the notice’s figure as a starting point, not as the final word. Check each employee’s dates, hours and award or agreement.
2. Recalculate with your own payroll records. If the inspector’s number is higher than yours, find out why before paying. If it’s lower than what you know you owe, tell the inspector.
3. Add what follows the wages. Back-pay can bring superannuation with it, so ask your payroll provider or accountant what else is triggered. Our page on unpaid super explains the pressure on that side.
4. Check what the notice needs as evidence, such as payslips, bank transfer receipts and an updated payroll setup.
5. Note the future cost. If the underpayment was a wrong classification or a missed penalty rate, the problem repeats every pay run until you fix it.

Ready to see whether funding fits? Our apply page takes about a minute, with no credit check at the enquiry stage.

What if I can’t find the money by the due date?

Call the inspector named on the notice before the date, not after it. The FWO itself suggests contacting the inspector as soon as possible if you can’t comply. Go in with a plan:

• the total you accept is owed, and the part you can pay now;
• where the rest is coming from and the date it will land;
• the evidence you’ll provide as each payment is made;
• a request, then a written confirmation of whatever is agreed.

Extensions aren’t automatic. Until the FWO agrees in writing, the original date stands.

What does missing it cost? Court action to enforce the notice, and a penalty on top of the back-pay. One FWO litigation summary from January 2026 records a company and its director being penalised $73,242 for not complying with a notice. That’s an example of what can happen, not a prediction for your case. It’s the clearest illustration of why paying on time is cheaper than the alternative.

Can a director be personally pulled in?

The Fair Work Act can reach people involved in a contravention, not just the business entity, and the FWO has litigated against directors alongside their companies. Sole traders and partners carry the exposure directly. If you’re a director who has also signed guarantees, our guide on a demand on a personal guarantee shows how those claims escalate. Staff wages come first in most owners’ priority lists for good reason, and our wages shortfall page covers the weekly pressure.

How can I fund Fair Work back-pay?

Be honest about the size and the speed. A back-pay bill is a lump sum, owed to several people at once, with a date attached. The routes that suit it:

Route	Suits when	Watch for
Your own cash or a cleared receivable	Gap is small	Draining the account the wages come out of
Unsecured cash flow funding	The business has turnover and clean bank statements	Sized on turnover, typically $5,000 to $500,000
Property-secured funding	You or the business have equity	Valuation and legal steps take time
Payment arrangement agreed with the FWO	You can’t pay everything by the date	Must be agreed in writing

Funding doesn’t make the problem disappear and it won’t suit every business. If the venue loses money every week, borrowing to pay back-pay can just delay the next crisis. A funded route works best when the business is sound and the cause is a one-off error, a misread award or a catch-up bill. If other creditors are circling too, our creditor settlement funding page shows how several debts can be handled together. Whether we can arrange anything before your due date depends on the security, the documents and the days left, which is why starting early matters.

A worked example (illustrative only)

A café owner receives a compliance notice covering four casuals who were paid a flat hourly rate on weekends. The notice sets a due date a few weeks away. After checking the roster, the owner agrees the amounts are broadly right. Takings are steady, but there’s no cash buffer after a quiet winter. The owner calls the inspector, confirms the figure, applies for funding that day and uses the time to fix the payroll rates going forward. The back-pay is paid and evidenced before the date. One honest conversation and one early application beat three weeks of dread.

Ready to find out where you stand?

If you owe back-pay and the date is coming, we’d rather hear from you now than on the final day. Running a business means occasionally paying for an error, and the owners who come out well are the ones who deal with it quickly.

Enquiring takes about 60 seconds, and it won’t touch your credit file. We don’t send your details to a pile of lenders, so your phone won’t start ringing with strangers. A real person looks at your situation and calls you to talk it through. Please fill in the form accurately, including the date on your notice, so we can match the right option the first time.

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