Record $830,000 in penalties for unlicensed provider who exploited migrant workers

10 June 2026
Record $830,000 in penalties for unlicensed provider who exploited migrant workers

A labour hire company and its director who exploited workers and targeted Nepalese migrants have been issued penalties of $830,000 after legal action by the Labour Hire Authority (LHA).

The outcome represents the largest ever total penalty for breaches of labour hire law in Australia, reflecting unlawful conduct over several years across major Victorian horticulture regions.

Mountain Harvesting Pty Ltd received more than $2.6 million in revenue by supplying over a hundred labour hire workers to farms in Woorinen and Tatura without a licence, across two and a half years.

Mountain Harvesting was penalised $750,000 and company director Hom Dawadi was penalised $80,000 for involvement in the contraventions.

Significant penalties apply per contravention of the Labour Hire Licensing Act 2018 (Vic) for businesses that provide or advertise labour hire services without a licence. 

The Supreme Court of Victoria found the company’s workers were exploited as they did not receive full superannuation entitlements.

“Ensuring labour hire companies are licensed is essential to protect vulnerable workers and improve the integrity and transparency of the industry,” says Labour Hire Licensing Commissioner Steve Dargavel.

“As this decision shows, if you try to profit off the backs of vulnerable labour hire workers, you’ll pay a heavy price,” says Commissioner Dargavel.

The company, and its director Hom Dawadi, targeted migrant workers with advertisements on Facebook offering work picking fruit and vegetables in Mildura, Swan Hill, Robinvale, Lilydale and Shepparton.

More than 50 advertisements were published on Mountain Harvesting’s Facebook page and Dawadi’s personal Facebook page over several years, particularly targeting Nepalese working holiday visa holders.

At least one advertisement offered a rate of $17 per hour for apple picking – an unlawfully low rate, well below the minimum in the Horticulture Award.

The Court also found Mr Dawadi lied to LHA by stating Mountain Harvesting was not already providing labour hire when he applied for a licence in July 2020. LHA refused the application.

Only advertise if you have an active licence

To comply with the Act, a valid labour hire licence must be in place whenever labour hire services are advertised. 

This may include:

  • television and radio advertisements
  • newspapers and other publications
  • flyers in mailboxes of homes or businesses
  • paid and organic posts on social media platforms
  • an active website promoting services
  • posting to online community message boards and pages. 

To avoid risking serious penalties, providers should be aware of anywhere they are advertising services and at three key times:

  • When applying for a licence – apply at least three months before intending to start advertising services, allowing time for the application to be processed.
  • When renewing a licence – submit renewal applications up to six months ahead of expiry.
  • If a licence status changes – ensure all labour hire advertising ceases, including updating any websites or social media pages.

Actions for hosts – protect your business

Hosts are urged to take two quick actions to protect their business and support LHA in working towards a fairer industry for businesses and workers:

For more information for hosts on how to protect their business when engaging labour hire, visit the Host webpage.