The Fair Work Ombudsman has recovered more than $249,000 for 462 service station workers as part of a campaign focusing on service stations across Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory.

Fair Work recovered more than $28,000 for workers in South Australia, around $31,000 for workers in the NT, and a staggering $190,000 for workers in WA.

Fair Work Inspectors completed audits of 190 randomly selected service stations across WA, SA and the NT as part of the campaign and found 109 (57 per cent) were meeting their obligations under workplace laws, while 81 (43 per cent) were not.

Most of the businesses in breach had only record-keeping, pay slip and technical breaches, while 34 employers had underpaid 462 employees a total of $249,870.

The NT had the highest compliance rate, followed by WA (60 per cent) and SA (53 per cent).

Fair Work Ombudsman executive director, Steve Ronson, said Fair Work Inspectors assisted employers to voluntarily rectify non-compliance issues and put processes in place to ensure they were not repeated.

“While the overall contravention rate was concerning, it is pleasing that all employers were willing to back-pay their staff without the need for further action,” Ronson said.

Ronson said the campaign – which focused on a range of independent, franchised and company-owned retailers in metropolitan and regional areas – was prompted by the sector being a persistent source of complaints in WA, SA and the NT.

“The aim of the campaign was to ensure workers were receiving their full entitlements and to make sure that employers in the industry were aware of their obligations under workplace laws,” he said.

“The campaign provided an opportunity for employers in Western Australia, South Australia, and the Northern Territory to ensure they were aware of the free resources available to help them comply with their obligations.”