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The Fair Work Ombudsman has commenced Federal Court action against an IGA franchisee in regional NSW, alleging it underpaid a Nepalese visa holder more than $93,000 and then supplied false records to cover it up. For employers who sponsor visa holders, the case is a reminder that wage compliance isn’t just an HR issue. It’s a sponsorship obligation, and it can carry personal liability for directors.
What happened in the Kinsfolk case?
Kinsfolk Retail Pty Ltd, which operates the IGA supermarket in Narrandera, is facing court alongside its sole director Kavit Himanshu Parekh and his brother Ripple Himanshu Parekh. The Fair Work Ombudsman alleges the company underpaid a Nepalese visa holder $93,257 between August 2021 and May 2023.
The worker, who restocked shelves and unloaded delivery trucks, was allegedly working full-time hours of between 51 and 77 hours a week. According to the FWO, he was paid the correct award rate through his bank account for just 4 hours a week, with the rest of his hours paid in cash at a flat $15 an hour, regardless of when he worked.
What the worker was allegedly entitled to under the General Retail Industry Award 2020:
Normal hours: $22.33 to $23.38 per hour
Weekend, public holiday, late night and overtime work: $27.91 to $58.45 per hour
Flat rate actually paid for most hours worked: $15 per hour
The FWO also alleges annual leave, minimum break entitlements and a laundry allowance went unpaid, and that Kinsfolk knowingly gave the regulator false records and pay slips during its investigation. Kinsfolk has since back-paid the worker in full, but the litigation continues. A directions hearing is listed in the Federal Circuit and Family Court in Sydney on 2 October 2026.
Why does this matter for sponsoring employers?
Paying visa holders correctly isn’t optional and it isn’t separate from your immigration compliance. Every employer sponsoring a worker on a Skills in Demand visa, or any other employer-sponsored visa, agrees to sponsor obligations that require ongoing compliance with workplace law, including award wages, record-keeping and pay slip requirements under the Fair Work Act. A wage underpayment finding doesn’t stay in the employment law lane. It can trigger sponsor obligation breaches, which the Department of Home Affairs can act on independently of any Fair Work Ombudsman penalty.
The FWO has also been explicit that migrant workers are an enforcement priority. In the eight financial years to June 2025, it filed 171 litigations against employers involving visa holders and secured $39 million in penalties in those matters. Businesses that employ sponsored or visa-holding staff sit squarely in its sights.
Why could the directors be personally liable?
Both Kavit and Ripple Parekh face individual penalties in this matter, not just the company. Under the Fair Work Act’s accessorial liability provisions, a person who is knowingly involved in a contravention, including a director who sets pay arrangements or signs off on records, can be personally penalised alongside the business. The FWO alleges Kavit Parekh was involved in all of Kinsfolk’s contraventions and Ripple Parekh in some of the underpayment, pay slip and false record allegations.
Maximum penalties sought
Kinsfolk Retail Pty Ltd: up to $82,500 per breach
Each individual director: up to $16,500 per breach
Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth was direct about the seriousness of the alleged conduct: “Allegedly significantly undercutting minimum Award rates and trying to cover it up with false records and pay slips is completely unacceptable conduct.”
What should sponsoring employers do now?
Cash-in-hand top-ups, partial payslip records and informal pay arrangements are exactly the pattern regulators are trained to spot, and they create risk on two fronts at once: Fair Work enforcement and sponsorship compliance. If your business sponsors visa holders, it’s worth checking that pay slips reflect actual hours and rates worked, that award classifications are current, and that record-keeping would hold up under a Fair Work or Home Affairs audit.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
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