The maximum penalty prescribed in s 83E(1) of the Act is to be applied to any single contravention of a civil penalty provision, and serves as a 'yard stick' against which the assessment of penalties is generally to proceed.

The maximum penalty prescribed by s83E(1) serves as a yardstick against which the assessment of penalties is to proceed, and where multiple contraventions arise from one course of conduct, an adjustment by reduction may be appropriate and the totality principle requires reassessment of aggregate penalty.

The primary purpose of pecuniary penalties is to secure compliance with the statutory regime and to deter the contravener and others from engaging in similar conduct.

A respondent seeking to rely on financial incapacity as a mitigating factor for penalty must provide proper evidence of that incapacity.

Where an employer contravenes or fails to comply with a consent order of the Commission, the Full Bench may impose a penalty (up to $2,000 for an employer under s 84A(5)) or issue a caution, and may give the employer an opportunity to remedy the breach before determining whether to impose a penalty.

The purpose of s 84A is not merely to enforce compliance with particular orders but to reinforce the requirement for parties to comply with the Act and orders of the Commission and to allow the Commission to publicly admonish and impose sanctions against transgressors.

Where an employer has made multiple agreements to comply with an order but repeatedly failed to do so, the absence of prior breaches is a minimal mitigating factor.

The primary purpose of a civil penalty is to promote public interest in compliance with the law, achieved by imposing penalties sufficiently high to deter the wrongdoer (specific deterence) and others (general deterrence).

Regard must be given to the maximum penalty as a 'yard stick' against which the assessment of penalties is generally to proceed.

The size of the business should not weigh in favour of diminishing a penalty that should otherwise be assessed.

A civil penalty promotes public interest in compliance with the law and should include a significant component for general deterrence, especially where contravention sought to wilfully mislead enforcement authorities.

The primary purpose of a civil penalty is to promote the public interest in compliance with the law through specific and general deterrence, rather than retribution.