Federal Court fines Qantas $90 million penalty for illegally outsourcing ground handling workforce

Airline giant Qantas will face a $90 million penalty over its decision to illegally outsource 1,800 ground handling jobs during the COVID pandemic.

The Federal Court’s Justice Michael Lee on Monday said the penalty must “bear some resemblance” to the maximum $121 million — and should be no less than $90 million, which is 75 per cent of the maximum.

He said $50 million of the penalty should be paid to the Transport Workers Union (TWU).

It follows a 2020 decision by Qantas to outsource its ground handling workforce, which the Federal Court later found to be illegal.

The TWU had called for the airline to be fined a maximum of $121 million, in addition to the $120 million in compensation it’s required to pay the affected employees.

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