A Federal Circuit and Family Court judgement released on 9 October 2026 reveals how two related Melbourne finance–broking companies and their manager systematically underpaid and threatened temporary visa holders. Ansa Finance Pty Ltd and AFSL Group Pty Ltd routinely rostered recent Indian migrants for months without wages, then fired them when they asked to be paid. The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) told the court that one visa-dependent worker was left “in significant financial difficulty”, relying on family overseas to survive. Judge Janine Young described the conduct as "calculated, repeated and exploitative", imposing penalties that total $478,880 – the third time Ansa Finance and its manager Joshua Fuoco have been sanctioned. The court also ordered back-payment of $30,817 plus interest and superannuation. The FWO argued the large fine was necessary because the respondents had ignored previous warnings and continued targeting employees whose immigration status made them reluctant to complain. For global-mobility managers the case is a sharp reminder that Australia’s regulators are intensifying scrutiny of employers who misuse temporary and employer-sponsored visas. Organisations that place skilled migrants or working-holiday makers in client worksites must check that labour-hire chains are compliant with the Fair Work Act, visa conditions and Modern Slavery reporting duties. Practical steps include auditing payroll systems, providing anonymous whistle-blower channels in multiple languages, and ensuring sponsorship obligations – such as paying market salary rates and not recouping migration costs – are built into service contracts. The judgment also signals growing willingness by courts to impose personal liability on individual managers, increasing directors’ and officers’ exposure if workplace breaches intersect with immigration risk.
Source: Fair Work Ombudsman
