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Former Qantas workers who were illegally sacked five years ago have finally received their court-ordered payouts from a multimillion-dollar fine imposed on the airline, after a prolonged process that drew the ire of victims and the court.
The vast majority of 1800 ground crew workers illegally sacked by Qantas in 2021 received their court-ordered penalty payments worth thousands of dollars late last week, though they are still awaiting further money from a compensation fund.
Workers received about $2000 a year for each full year of service and $1700 for each partial year.
Brisbane-based Tony Mora, who had worked as a truck driver for the airline before being sacked, said that after waiting for so long he was really “over it”.
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“Anyways, it’s something,” he said. “Nothing to retire on.”
The disbursement of funds, derived from the $90 million penalty imposed on Qantas by Federal Court Judge Michael Lee in August 2025, is separate from the $120 million in compensation for the firings Qantas paid in May 2025.
The latest payment comes six years after the ground crew learnt they would be fired by Qantas. William Roberts Lawyers principal Robert Ishak confirmed that late last week “the Federal Court of Australia released payment to affected workers”.
“Of the over 1800 affected workers, approximately 20 have not yet been paid,” he said, adding that his law firm was working on getting those paid as soon as possible as well.
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Mora said that after seeing the money go into his account he thought, “well, it’s something”.
“There was no joy or elation,” he said. “It’s not over. That’s the problem. There’s still loss and pain and suffering monies still to come.”
Maurice Blackburn, the law firm that argued the case and is administering the compensation, has been given until October 31 to complete the process. Mora was sceptical the law firm would meet the deadline.
The slow pace of the compensation process has drawn the ire of the victims and the court. Last month, Justice Lee intervened to ensure the workers’ $35 million in penalty payments were decoupled from Qantas’ $120 million compensation fund.
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Half of the $90 million went to the Transport Workers Union, which brought the case, with the remaining $40 million going to workers. The courts had already paid out about $5 million before Christmas, when workers saw a $3333 interim payment land in their bank accounts.
One worker, “Natalie”, who had received an eviction notice soon after losing her job in 2021 when the sackings became official, said last week’s payment was helpful.
The former Qantas cleaner, who didn’t want her name to be published, said she felt “a little sense of relief as some of us were struggling”.
The 2025 ruling ended an industrial relations saga that began in 2020 when, facing the prospect of looming pandemic lockdowns, Qantas moved to outsource ground handling operations at 10 Australian airports. The decision wiped out more than 1800 jobs.
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In August 2025, Justice Lee acknowledged that Qantas was apologetic for the illegal outsourcing, but described it as “the wrong kind of sorry” and imposed one of the largest fines ever in Australian corporate history.
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Chris Zappone is a senior reporter covering aviation and business. He is former digital foreign editor.Connect via X, Facebook or email.AdvertisementAdvertisement