2 hours ago
A worker at one of the Australian Taxation Office’s outsourced call centres is pursuing a “same job, same pay” order that threatens to unravel the agency’s extensive use of third-party contractors.
The Fair Work Commission application comes amid heightened scrutiny of the ATO’s use of for-profit call centres, where workers have complained about low pay, poor conditions, insufficient training and extreme staff turnover rates.
The outsourced call centre workers argue that despite having the same duties, systems access and security obligations as the ATO’s staff, the pay disparity is extreme, often equating to a difference in annual income of tens of thousands of dollars.
The application has been lodged by Nathan Brunne, a worker on the ATO phone lines employed by the private equity-backed Probe Operations.
Brunne is relying on the Albanese government’s workplace reforms, designed to stop employers using labour hire firms to pay workers less than direct employees doing the same work.
If the application is successful, Probe and outsource call centres run by the Nasdaq-listed Concentrix Services and the British multinational Serco would be forced to pay the same rates as ATO staff covered by a public sector agreement.
The Community and Public Sector Union deputy national president, Beth Vincent-Pietsch, said the union had been campaigning for years against the use of outsourced workers to perform public sector work.
“These private contract arrangements cost taxpayers more than directly employed public servants, while the workers themselves receive lesser pay and conditions,” Vincent-Pietsch said.
“If successful, this application would deliver fairness to workers, improved services, and better value for taxpayers’ money.”
The CPSU has joined the application. The Australian Services Union indicated at an initial hearing on Tuesday it would also support Brunne.
Probe’s legal counsel told the commission the company would oppose the application, while the ATO is yet to formalise its position.
Probe, Concentrix and Serco were contacted for comment.
The private operators and the ATO have four weeks to respond to the application.
An ATO spokesperson said: “At this stage, it would be inappropriate to comment on this specific matter before the Fair Work Commission.”
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The legal argument is likely to turn on whether the ATO’s use of outsourced call centres is an attempt to access cheap labour or a genuine arrangement to deliver a service.
That question partly relies on how much the job functions and systems overlap between the ATO and the contracted firms.
In July, BHP was ordered to boost the pay of thousands of subsidiary workers after the commission deemed them to be labour hire workers and not a service provider.
Now the government’s own workplace reforms are being used to pursue its own agency.
While Labor released a framework for government agencies to wind back the use of consultants and outsourcing in 2023, the ATO went on to award $316.5m worth of call centre contracts to Probe, Concentrix and Serco, and a $42m contract to private debt collector Recoveriescorp.
The tax ombudsman has recorded an increasing number of complaints over the ATO’s debt collection methods, and has reminded the agency to be considerate of a person’s circumstances.
The ombudsman has also responded to growing complaints of deteriorating service on the ATO phone lines from tax agents, who note that they often speak to call staff who cannot provide informed responses.
