Employees who are owed certain employee entitlements after losing their job because their employer went bankrupt or into liquidation may be able to get financial help from the Australian Government.

This help is available through the Fair Entitlements Guarantee Scheme(FEG) if their employer went bankrupt or entered liquidation on or after 5 December 2012 or through the General Employee Entitlements and Redundancy Scheme (GEERS) if their employer went bankrupt or entered liquidation before 5 December 2012.

Fair Entitlements Guarantee (FEG) is a legislative safety net scheme of last resort, with assistance available for:

  • wages—up to 13 weeks of unpaid wages
  • annual leave
  • long service leave
  • payment in lieu of notice—maximum of 5 weeks
  • redundancy pay—maximum of 4 weeks per full year of service

To be eligible for Fair Entitlements Guarantee (FEG) assistance, former employees must meet all of the eligibility requirements outlined in the Fair Entitlements Guarantee Act 2012. The preferred way to lodge a claim for assistance is online at FEG Online Services.

For more information on eligibility and how to make a claim please access the following website for further details http://www.employment.gov.au/fair-entitlements-guarantee-feg

If your employer is still operating a business, the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) may be able to provide information about the employer’s obligations to meet unpaid employee entitlements.

The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC), enforces and regulates company and financial services laws to protect consumers, investors and creditors. Employees of abandoned companies who are owed employee entitlements can submit a request to ASIC to wind up the company.

If a Receiver and Manager or Administrator has been appointed to your employer (or a Debt Agreement Administrator has been appointed in the case of an individual or partnership employer), you may contact the appointed insolvency practitioner for information about the future direction of the employer. To check if a company is in liquidation or external administration, you can do a business names or organisations search on ASIC Connect or search the insolvency notices.