s550: s 550 Directors, managers, advisers and others must not be involved in an employer's contravention
A person who is involved in a contravention of a civil remedy provision of the Act (for example underpaying award or NES entitlements, failing to keep records or issue pay slips, adverse action or sham contracting) is taken to have contravened it personally. A person is involved if, and only if, they aided, abetted, counselled or procured the contravention, induced it by threats, promises or otherwise, were knowingly concerned in or party to it by any act or omission, directly or indirectly, or conspired with others to effect it. In the held judgments (FWO v Myles, FWO v Aldred) the court treated directors and managers as involved where they knew the essential facts making up the contravention, such as the rates actually paid; knowing that those facts were unlawful was not needed. An involved person faces the individual penalty, back-payment orders and, where they knew the employer's contravention was serious, the higher serious contravention penalty (s 557A(5A)).
Our statement of the clause of Australia Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), held and verified: cite it as s550. The instrument verbatim is not quoted here; the held framework carries the reading.
The evidence this duty asks you to hold
Board or management minutes recording review of payroll compliance reports, award coverage and underpayment risk; Documented responsibilities for award interpretation, rate setting and payroll sign-off, naming the accountable officer; Records of questions raised and corrective action taken by managers or advisers who became aware of rates below the award; Engagement terms for external payroll providers and accountants requiring award compliance checks and escalation of suspected underpayment
What usually goes missing
Directors and managers approving rates or rosters with knowledge of the applicable award but no compliance check; External payroll provider running pay runs it knows are below award minimums without escalating; Underpayment concerns raised by staff closed without investigation; No record showing who decided pay rates and on what advice
Where this lands in an audit
In Equal Pay Auditor this control informs the same-work screen, the category figures and the remediation steps, which carry their article citations on the result.