Migrants underpaid by Rp1.7 billion; Japanese restaurant boss in Sydney sued
The Australian Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) has filed a lawsuit against a Sydney restaurant operator accused of deliberately paying dozens of migrant workers well below standard, resulting in total underpayments of more than A$162,000 (about Rp1.7 billion).
The proprietor, Katsuyoshi “Ken” Sadamatsu, is a co-owner and operator of the Japanese restaurant Miso World Square, located on Liverpool Street, Haymarket. His company, Miso Pty Ltd, entered liquidation in 2024. The restaurant formally closed in early 2025 and was subsequently wound up. The case came to light after the FWO audited the restaurant as part of a compliance check.
Alleged underpayment of wages
Investigators from the FWO found that Ken Sadamatsu allegedly paid workers flat rates of A$19–A$27 per hour (roughly Rp190,000 to Rp270,000). This is well below the provisions of the Restaurant Industry Award 2020, which requires higher rates for overtime, weekend work, and public holidays. In addition, the FWO also alleges underpayment of annual leave on termination, failure to pay split-shift allowances, and breaches of record-keeping and administration rules.
The FWO notes that the amount of underpayment per worker varied from A$100 (about Rp1 million) up to a peak of A$19,017 (about Rp190 million).
According to the FWO, one worker who experienced the largest underpayments across several periods was paid a flat rate of just A$22 per hour, whereas the correct rates should have been A$32 for overtime (about Rp320,000), A$27 for Saturday work, and A$48 per hour on public holidays.
Migrants, including Indonesians, were affected
The FWO says, in total, 82 workers are believed to have been underpaid by A$162,514 between June 2020 and September 2022. They primarily worked as chefs, kitchen staff, or waiters and were migrant workers from various Asian countries, especially Thailand, Indonesia, and Japan. The FWO notes that 36 of them were young workers aged 19 to 24 at the time.
The FWO assessed Sadamatsu’s actions as deliberate and systematic, categorising them as serious contraventions under the Fair Work Act, which allows the courts to impose penalties up to 10 times the standard level for breaches.
Recurring breaches
The FWO notes that the business owned by Ken Sadamatsu and his family signed Enforceable Undertakings with the FWO in 2011 after underpayments of A$679,000 to 180 workers across four Sydney restaurants were discovered. In August 2020, the FWO had already issued formal warnings regarding underpayment.
Australian fair work Ombudsman, Anna Booth, said the lawsuit was filed because the workers are a vulnerable group that deserves protection. “It is entirely unacceptable that these alleged breaches continue despite Sadamatsu having been clearly warned about the obligation to comply with labour law,” Booth said. “If we find a business owner deliberately diminishing migrant workers’ wages, we will do everything possible to hold them to account.”
Layered penalties
The FWO now seeks penalties against Ken Sadamatsu for a number of breaches of the Fair Work Act. He faces fines of up to A$133,200 per serious breach and up to A$13,320 per other breach. The FWO also seeks a court order requiring Sadamatsu to pay back the full underpayments, including interest and superannuation contributions.
A directions hearing is scheduled at the Federal Circuit and Family Court in Sydney for 12 March 2026.
Cases of underpayment of minimum wages in Australia
Underpayment of migrant workers in Australia, due to pay below the statutory rate, is a frequent issue. Earlier this year, ABC published an in‑depth report on how migrant workers are paid poorly and sometimes go unpaid for years after being asked to work during busy periods before Christmas.
Two Indonesian workers, Susilo and Tommy, told ABC that they had not been paid for 100 hours of hard work since 2023. They said their attempts to secure payment, including complaints to the FWO, to unions, and even to the police, have yielded little result.
In 2020, two Din Tai Fung restaurant operators in Sydney and Melbourne were also brought before the federal court by the Fair Work Ombudsman for underpayment of staff. The FWO noted total underpayments of A$157,025 across 17 workers, including chefs, waitstaff, dishwashers, and restaurant managers. The FWO has indicated that most of these workers were from Indonesia and China, in Australia on student visas or visas sponsored by the company, according to information from ABC Indonesia.
The FWO reminds that migrant workers have the same rights as other workers in Australia, and that the law provides protection when they report breaches, regardless of visa status. The FWO also operates a complaint service for employers and workers at 13 13 94, with free interpretation at 13 14 50. It also offers an online anonymous reporting tool, including options to report in Indonesian as well as English.