Qantas payout delayed again for 1,820 sacked workers

By Claire Bennett · 2026-07-29

Still waiting after six years

1,820 former Qantas ground handlers, outsourced out of work in 2020, have still not received a cent of the $120 million compensation fund agreed in December 2024.verifiedVerified Source: investor.qantas.com^[1] Maurice Blackburn, the firm appointed to administer the fund, told the Federal Court eight days before its 31 July payment deadline that it needed more time.

Justice Michael Lee refused the extension. Lee said he had no confidence in the process and characterised the approach as coming to him at a minute to midnight. Workers stood down more than five years ago remain unpaid.

What the court agreed and what Maurice Blackburn was supposed to do

On 17 December 2024, Qantas and the Transport Workers' Union reached agreement to establish the $120 million fund for former employees affected by the airline's decision to outsource ground handling operations.^[1] Maurice Blackburn was named as administrator, responsible for assessing individual claims and distributing payments by the court-set deadline.

Qantas Group held up its end. The airline paid the full $120 million into the fund during the second half of its 2024/25 financial year.verifiedVerified Source: investor.qantas.com^[2] The money was sitting in the fund. The breakdown came in distributing it.

Justice Lee's response: no confidence, no extension

Maurice Blackburn cited the volume of claimants, the complexity of medical reports, tax issues and dealings with Services Australia as reasons the deadline could not be met. The firm also pointed to its experience handling large class actions as grounds for the court to grant more time.

Justice Lee was not persuaded. He refused to move the deadline, and said the firm would have to wear the consequences of breaching his orders.

The $40 million penalty share still in play

The compensation fund is not the only money at stake. On 18 August 2025, the Federal Court imposed a $90 million pecuniary penalty on Qantas for the outsourcing decision.^[3] Justice Lee ordered $50 million of that sum paid to the TWU. The remaining $40 million was not distributed at the same time.

Justice Lee said he would "reserve, for later consideration, the making of further orders for the payment of the $40 million balance of the penalty."verifiedVerified Source: upload.wikimedia.org^[3] No date has been set for that further hearing, leaving the $40 million balance subject to orders that are yet to be made.

What Qantas said at the December settlement

Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson said the agreement was an important step in bringing closure to the affected individuals, and reiterated sincere apologies to those impacted and their families.^[1] For the 1,820 workers concerned, closure has not arrived.

Justice Lee's finding that Qantas contravened the Fair Work Act by outsourcing the ground handling work followed TWU proceedings commenced in December 2020. The penalty judgment of 18 August 2025 was the court's most recent action in a case that has now run for nearly five years.

What comes next

The immediate question is whether the Federal Court will set a new and binding distribution date for the $120 million fund, and on what terms Maurice Blackburn continues as administrator. A further hearing must also be scheduled to determine how the $40 million penalty balance is distributed among the 1,820 affected workers.^[3]

Justice Lee imposed the $90 million penalty on 18 August 2025, with the TWU's $50 million share the only portion of that sum presently resolved.

Claire Bennett

Claire Bennett writes about work and workplace culture. She is interested in the gap between how organisations describe themselves and what it feels like to work inside them.