A Croydon man is being prosecuted by the Fair Work Ombudsman for allegedly paying staff at his martial arts and fitness centre — some as young as 15 — less than a dollar an hour.
The ombudsman investigated David Michael Auty and his company Revolution Martial Arts Pty Ltd after a complaint was lodged by an employee. It found 17 staff were allegedly underpaid a total of $67,320 between July 2009 and April 2012.
It's alleged Auty made unauthorised deductions from the trainees' wages for club membership and administration fees, resulting in them receiving actual payments of between 73 cents and $2.74 an hour.
Auty faces penalties of up to $6600 per breach and his company faces penalties of up to $33,000 per contravention.