$250 a Week for 15 Years: Why Nine Volunteer Committee Members Are Now Paying Out of Their Own Pockets

Imagine running a business for 15 years. The finances, the licensing, the memberships, the volunteers, the liquor licence. Every committee meeting. Full-time hours.

Now imagine being paid $250 a week for it.

That’s what happened to the manager of the Gold Coast Pistol Club. On 30 September 2026, the Federal Circuit and Family Court ordered the club to pay $476,100 in penalties. Nine members of its committee were personally penalised too, with more than $52,000 between them.

And here’s the part that should make every business owner and board member stop scrolling: the committee knew.

The short version What happened: A club paid its full-time manager $250 a week for around 15 years, with no payslips, no proper super and no annual leave. The outcome: Over $368,000 in back pay and compensation, $476,100 in penalties against the club, and personal penalties for nine committee members. The lesson: If you sit on a board or run the business and you know staff are underpaid, doing nothing can make you personally liable.

What Actually Happened at the Gold Coast Pistol Club?

The worker joined the club as a member in 1981. She started part-time bookkeeping in 2005 and became club manager by mid-2006. From 2007 she lived in a caretaker’s cottage on the grounds, paying $100 a week in rent.

Her job was anything but part-time. She ran the finances, processed memberships, supervised volunteers, trained junior shooters, handled weapons licensing paperwork and was the responsible person for the liquor licence.

She was paid $250 a week. No contract. No payslips. No annual leave. Super not paid at the correct rate.

In April 2025, the court found the club had failed to pay minimum wages, weekend penalty rates, super and annual leave under the award. The wage, overtime and super failures were found to be serious contraventions. That’s the label the Fair Work Act gives to underpayments that are knowing and part of a systematic pattern, and it carries much higher maximum penalties.

How Did the Committee Know?

This wasn’t a payroll glitch nobody spotted. According to the evidence the court accepted:

• The club’s former treasurer raised the underpayment with successive presidents at least once a year, from as early as 2009.
• The club’s external accountant repeatedly flagged it and told the worker to escalate.
• Auditor’s reports tabled at AGMs would have made the problem obvious to any committee member who was paying attention.

 

Every year it was acknowledged. Every year someone promised to look into it. Every year nothing changed.

The former president, who had received written advice about the underpayment in 2016, wanted to keep her pay performance-based to keep her motivated as she entered her 70s. The court called that a “woeful exercise of judgment”.

What Made It Worse?

In late 2020, after the worker pushed harder, the committee offered her a six-month contract at about $63,000 a year, plus a one-off $10,000 to settle everything she was owed. It was labelled a final offer, with a deadline.

The court accepted her evidence that she was told she would be terminated and evicted from her home if she didn’t sign. She was elderly, living on club property and had few options. She signed.

The court found this was adverse action. Raising concerns about being underpaid is a workplace right under the Fair Work Act, and pressuring someone because they’ve done it is unlawful. The club then ended her employment in July 2021 anyway.

That one move added its own penalty. Instead of fixing the problem, the committee tried to make it go away for a fraction of what was owed.

What Did It End Up Costing?

What	Amount
Back pay and compensation (ordered July 2025)	$368,440.65
Penalty: failing to pay minimum wages	$266,400
Penalty: overtime failures	$66,600
Penalty: superannuation failures	$66,600
Penalty: unpaid annual leave	$33,300
Penalty: pressuring her to sign the contract	$33,300
Penalty: failing to give proper notice	$9,900
Personal penalties, nine committee members	From $666 to $14,652 each, more than $52,000 in total

 

All penalties were ordered to be paid directly to the worker. Both sides asked for legal costs and both were knocked back. The worker’s own legal bill topped $2 million, and the court was critical of how her legal team ran the case.

So nobody really won here. A small club faced a bill that could threaten its survival, volunteers were personally penalised, and a long-serving worker spent years in court.

Can Committee Members and Directors Really Be Personally Liable?

Yes. Under the Fair Work Act, anyone who is knowingly involved in a contravention can be held personally liable for it. That includes directors, managers, committee members and even advisers.

The court here didn’t treat all nine the same. It looked at each person’s role and how long they served. The former president copped the highest individual penalties. Others received smaller amounts based on how involved they were.

Being a volunteer didn’t get anyone off. Approving financial reports that show obviously inadequate pay is enough to put you in the frame.

Does This Apply to Small Businesses, or Just Clubs?

It applies to everyone who employs people. Clubs and associations just tend to get caught out because of how they’re run:

• Decisions are made by committees that change every year, so nobody owns the problem.
• Long-serving staff start as volunteers or members and drift into paid roles without a contract.
• Accommodation or other benefits get treated as part of the pay without proper paperwork.
• There’s no one with HR or payroll expertise on the board.

Family businesses run into exactly the same traps. The loyal employee who’s been there forever, paid a flat rate that hasn’t moved in years, with a handshake arrangement that nobody has checked against the award.

And the stakes have gone up. Since 1 January 2025, intentionally underpaying an employee can be a criminal offence. This case wasn’t run as a criminal matter, but it shows exactly the kind of knowing conduct regulators now have extra tools to deal with.

Can You Charge an Employee Rent or Deduct It From Their Pay?

Providing accommodation to staff is common in regional areas, hospitality, agriculture and clubs. It can be done properly, but it needs care.

Deductions from pay need written authorisation from the employee and must be principally for their benefit. They can’t be unreasonable when the money flows back to the employer. Some awards also have specific rules about accommodation and board.

If you provide housing, put it in writing as a separate arrangement and check the award. Never let it become a reason to pay below the minimum.

What Should You Do If You Think Someone Is Underpaid?

Fix it. Quickly. That’s the whole lesson from this case. Here’s the practical order:

1. Check the classification and award. Work out what the person should have been paid, including penalties, overtime, leave and super.
2. Calculate the shortfall. Go back as far as the records allow. Underpayment claims can generally be brought for up to six years.
3. Fix their pay going forward. Don’t wait until you’ve finished the back pay calculation to stop the problem growing.
4. Pay what’s owed. If cash flow is tight, talk to the employee about a payment plan. Don’t offer a lowball settlement with pressure attached.
5. Document everything. Show what you found, what you did and when. If the Fair Work Ombudsman comes knocking, a business that self-identified and fixed the problem is in a very different position.
6. Get advice early. Especially if the amounts are large or the employee has already raised concerns.

What to do this week Urgent: If anyone in your business is on a flat rate, a handshake deal or has been on the same pay for years, check it against the award now. Urgent: If a staff member, accountant or auditor has ever flagged pay concerns, find out what happened next. If the answer is nothing, that’s your biggest risk. Lower priority: Put employment contracts, payslips and accommodation arrangements in writing for every employee, including long-serving ones. For boards and committees: Add employee pay compliance as a standing agenda item, at least once a year.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can volunteer committee members be fined for underpaying staff?

Yes. Anyone knowingly involved in a breach of the Fair Work Act can be personally liable, whether they’re paid or not. In the Gold Coast Pistol Club case, nine committee members received personal penalties.

What is a serious contravention under the Fair Work Act?

It’s a breach that is knowing and part of a systematic pattern of conduct. It attracts much higher maximum penalties than an ordinary breach.

How far back can an employee claim underpaid wages?

Generally up to six years. In this case, the claim period covered nearly six years even though the underpayment went on for around 15.

Is underpaying staff a crime in Australia?

Since 1 January 2025, intentionally underpaying an employee can be a criminal offence under the Fair Work Act. Genuine mistakes are treated differently, but you need to fix them once you know about them.

Can I settle an underpayment for less than what’s owed?

Be very careful. Pressuring someone to accept less because they’ve complained can be adverse action, which carries its own penalties. That’s exactly what happened here.

Can I deduct rent from an employee’s wages?

Only with written authorisation, where it’s principally for the employee’s benefit and not unreasonable. It can never be used to push pay below the award minimum.

Not Sure If Your Team Is Paid Correctly?

HR Gurus will cut through the BS, check your pay arrangements against the award and give you a clear plan to fix anything that’s off, before it turns into a court case.

Book a call with HR Gurus today.

 

This article is general information only and is not legal advice. It is based on published decisions and reporting as at October 2026.