27Wages

27 Wages

(1) The owner of a regulated Australian vessel must pay each seafarer:

(a) at intervals of no more than 1 month; and

(b) in accordance with the work agreement.

(2) The owner must give the seafarer an account, at least monthly, of:

(a) the payments due; and

(b) the period to which each payment relates; and

(c) the amounts paid, including wages and additional payments; and

(d) details of all deductions from the gross amount of wages and additional payments.

Note The owner of a regulated Australian vessel must not keep any employee records, including pay slips, that contains information that is false or misleading. See sections 535 and 536 of the Fair Work Act 2009.

(3) The owner of a regulated Australian vessel must:

(a) establish a system for enabling a seafarer to send a proportion of the seafarer’s earnings to the seafarer’s family by bank transfer or similar means; and

(b) ensure the payments are made directly to the person named by the seafarer and on time.

(4) For subsection (3), if a proportion of the seafarer’s earnings are sent by bank transfer or similar means:

(a) the rate of any currency exchange must be the exchange rate published by the Reserve Bank of Australia for the day transfer occurs; and

(b) the owner may charge a reasonable amount for providing the service.

(5) An offence against subsection (1), (2), or (3) is a strict liability offence.

(6) A person is liable to a civil penalty if the person contravenes subsection (1), (2), or (3).

(7) If the seafarer is held captive on or off a vessel as a result of an act of piracy or act of armed robbery against ships, an owner of a regulated Australian vessel must continue to comply with this section until the death or repatriation of the seafarer.

(8) Subsection (7) applies whether or not the seafarer’s work agreement has expired or terminated, or been suspended, during captivity.