Qantas Airways, Australia’s national flag carrier, has been handed a staggering AU$90 million (approximately $59 million USD) fine by the Federal Court for illegally firing more than 1,800 ground staff during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The ruling, issued on August 18, 2025, marks the largest and most significant breach of Australian labor laws in the nation’s 120-year industrial history, according to the presiding judge, Michael Lee, as reported by UPI and ABC.
This penalty is not Qantas’s only financial reckoning. In December 2024, the airline had already agreed to pay AU$120 million ($78 million USD) in compensation to the affected workers, following a unanimous High Court decision that found the outsourcing of 1,820 baggage handler and cleaner roles at Australian airports in late 2020 to be illegal. The combined financial hit—AU$210 million ($137 million USD) in fines and compensation—underscores the gravity of the airline’s actions and the landmark nature of the case.
Justice Lee did not mince words in his assessment of Qantas’s conduct, calling the outsourcing move “the largest and most significant contravention” of relevant Australian labor laws. He emphasized that the airline’s decision was not merely a technical breach, but one with profound consequences for workers and their families. “If any further evidence was needed of the unrelenting and aggressive litigation strategy adopted in this case by Qantas, it is provided by this effort directed to denying any compensation whatsoever to those in respect of whom Qantas was publicly professing regret for their misfortune,” Lee stated in his judgment, as cited by UPI and ABC.
Qantas executives had anticipated saving AU$125 million ($81 million USD) annually through the controversial outsourcing, a move they argued was necessary amid the uncertainty and economic turmoil of the pandemic’s early days. However, the court found these savings came at an unacceptable cost to employee rights and Australian labor standards.
The Transport Workers Union (TWU), representing 60,000 members, was the driving force behind the legal challenge. The union’s persistence has now been rewarded with AU$50 million ($33 million USD) of the fine, as Justice Lee noted that no Australian government agency had shown interest in investigating or prosecuting Qantas. “But for the union … , Qantas’ contravening conduct would never have been exposed and it would never have been held to account for its unlawful conduct,” Lee explained. A further hearing will determine the allocation of the remaining AU$40 million ($26 million USD) of the penalty.
Michael Kaine, national secretary of the TWU, expressed a sense of vindication following the ruling. “It is a significant—the most significant—industrial outcome in Australia’s history and it sends a really clear message to Qantas and to every employer in Australia: Treat your work force illegally and you will be held accountable,” Kaine told reporters. He added, “Against all the odds, we took on a behemoth that had shown itself to be ruthless and we won.”
The union also highlighted the human cost of Qantas’s actions. Many of the affected workers found out they had lost their jobs via loudspeaker announcements in break rooms, a detail that has become emblematic of what the TWU describes as the airline’s disregard for its employees’ dignity and well-being. Kaine was blunt in his assessment: “Qantas was not sorry to workers when it illegally outsourced these workers, many finding out they'd lost their jobs over loudspeaker in the lunch room. It was not sorry when it dragged them all the way to the High Court, or when it argued it should have to pay them no compensation at all. Qantas is only sorry now that it has to pay the largest penalty fine of any employer in Australian corporate history.”
For its part, Qantas has publicly acknowledged its wrongdoing and expressed remorse. Vanessa Hudson, the airline’s chief executive—and its chief financial officer during the layoffs—issued a formal apology following the decision. “We sincerely apologize to each and every one of the 1,820 ground handling employees and to their families who suffered as a result,” Hudson said in a statement. “The decision to outsource five years ago, particularly during such an uncertain time, caused genuine hardship for many of our former team and their families. The impact was felt not only by those who lost their jobs, but our entire workforce.” Hudson added, “Over the past 18 months we’ve worked hard to change the way we operate as part of our efforts to rebuild trust with our people and our customers. This remains our highest priority as we work to earn back the trust we lost.”
Justice Lee, however, questioned the depth of Qantas’s remorse, suggesting that the company’s regret was likely more about reputational damage than true contrition for the harm caused to workers. “I do think that the people in charge of Qantas now have some genuine regret, but this more likely reflects the damage that this case has done to the company rather than remorse for the damage done to the affected workers,” Lee observed.
The fallout from this episode extends beyond employee relations. Qantas has also faced legal action for its dealings with passengers during the pandemic. In 2024, the airline agreed to pay AU$120 million ($78 million USD) in compensation and fines for selling tickets on more than 8,000 flights that had already been canceled between May 2021 and July 2022. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission pursued the airline for false, misleading, or deceptive conduct, further tarnishing Qantas’s reputation for transparency and customer care.
The Qantas case has sent shockwaves through Australia’s corporate and industrial landscape. The scale of the penalty, combined with the union’s success in holding a major employer to account, is likely to influence how companies approach labor relations and restructuring in the future. The TWU has framed the outcome as a warning to all employers: “Against all odds, TWU members have sent a $90 million warning to corporate Australia: you can’t break the law and get away with it.”
As the dust settles, questions remain about the future direction of Qantas and the standards it—and other employers—will be held to in the years ahead. The airline has pledged to rebuild trust, but the scars of this historic legal defeat will not fade overnight. For the thousands of workers affected, and for the broader Australian workforce, the Qantas case stands as a powerful reminder of the importance of fair treatment, accountability, and the enduring value of collective action.
