Victoria's brothel industry has been caught with its pants down, after 70 per cent of the businesses inspected in a random audit were found to be breaking workplace laws.
The clerical workers exploited in the breaches were mostly women from non-English speaking backgrounds who feared complaining about exploitation to their employers.
The Fair Work Ombudsman investigation found 19 brothels, mostly in Melbourne, had underpaid 51 workers more than $65,000.
Of the 62 brothels inspected by the ombudsman, 44 were in breach of workplace laws.
The biggest underpayment was $12,800 for 10 employees at a Melbourne brothel, which had underpaid the minimum hourly rate and penalty rates for shift, weekend and overtime work.
The ombudsman launched the investigation into wages and conditions of clerical workers after fielding inquiries from brothel managers about proper entitlements.
Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James said the breaches appeared to be genuine errors by the brothels, rather than deliberate attempts to short-change employees.
The workers received back pay and the ombudsman did not penalise the brothels.
The establishments audited were in central Melbourne and the city's western, eastern and northern suburbs, and on the Mornington Peninsula.
Businesses in the Yarra Valley, High Country, on the Great Ocean Road and in the Daylesford and Macedon Ranges area were also inspected.
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