Australia’s Federal Court has ordered Qantas Airways to pay a record A$90 million (about US$59 million) for illegally outsourcing 1,820 ground-handling positions during the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic in late 2020. Justice Michael Lee said the sanction must exceed the cost of doing business and serve as a clear deterrent to large companies contemplating similar conduct. The penalty, equivalent to 75% of the statutory maximum of A$121 million, is the largest ever imposed for breaches of Australia’s industrial-relations laws. Of the total, A$50 million will be paid to the Transport Workers Union, which brought the action on behalf of displaced employees. Justice Lee criticised the airline’s level of remorse and warned corporate Australia that courts would not tolerate “blatant attacks on workers’ rights.” The ruling caps nearly five years of litigation that saw Qantas repeatedly lose challenges to findings that its cost-cutting move was unlawful. The carrier has already agreed to establish a separate A$120 million compensation pool for affected workers. Qantas said it accepted the court’s decision and is assessing the judgment’s implications for its labour practices and governance.