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<\/p>\nA growing number of workers at several Ningaloo Reef tour operators say they were underpaid and overworked in the seasonal roles that prop up the tourist hotspot.<\/p>\n
As companies recruit new staff ahead of the peak winter months, some workers are calling for an investigation into the closely knit industry worth tens of millions of dollars.<\/p>\n
Among them is Keelan Priscott, who said six months in his one-time “dream job” had left “a sour taste”.<\/p>\n
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Keelan Priscott holds a master’s degree in marine biology and was eager to work on the world’s largest fringing reef. (Supplied)<\/p>\n
“I was one of two applicants selected out of 160 applicants for diving,” the 27-year-old said.<\/p>\n
“After leaving the UK three years ago, I could have never imagined that I would have landed a role up in the Ningaloo.”<\/p>\n
The remote WA town of Exmouth, about 1,230 kilometres north of Perth, attracts tens of thousands of visitors each year as the chief gateway to the World Heritage-listed Ningaloo Reef.<\/p>\n
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The tourist town of Exmouth in WA’s north-west. (ABC News: Alistair Bates)<\/p>\n
Its kaleidoscopic corals and marine animals are fixtures of state and federal advertising campaigns, contributing $110 million to the state’s economy annually, according to Tourism WA.<\/p>\n
But Mr Priscott said he was paid “far below the minimum wage” and missed out on about $4,000, plus superannuation, during his time as a dive instructor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“It’s really a cash cow,” he said.<\/p>\n
His former employer, Dive Ningaloo, denies the allegations of underpayment.<\/p>\n
In a letter to the ABC, the company said it was not aware of any wrongdoing, and was “extremely disappointed that [Mr Priscott] did not raise the matter” before leaving Exmouth.<\/p>\n
Legal questions<\/p>\n
Central to Mr Priscott’s claims is the legal distinction between independent contractors and employees.<\/p>\n
Independent contractors often negotiate their own fees and arrangements, such as working for multiple clients.<\/p>\n
They do not have the same rights as employees and forego casual loading, overtime, superannuation and worker’s compensation.<\/p>\n
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Keelan Priscott took his pay dispute to the Fair Work Ombudsman, but says progress has stalled. (Supplied)<\/p>\n
Since August 2024, the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) has set out a “whole of relationship test” to help employers determine whether a worker is a contractor or an employee.<\/p>\n
Mr Priscott claims he was wrongly treated by Dive Ningaloo as a contractor, when he was legally entitled to the benefits of a casual employee.<\/p>\n
How did we investigate these allegations?Reviewed Keelan Priscott’s first contract, payslips and invoices.Obtained text messages between Mr Priscott and Dive Ningaloo management.Spoke with multiple sources about work practices in Exmouth’s marine tourism industry.<\/p>\n
His first contract, signed in January 2025 and seen by the ABC, showed he was being paid a flat rate of $220 for an 8-hour day on Ningaloo Reef.<\/p>\n
A rate of $240 was paid for a 9-to-10 hour day at the Murion Islands.<\/p>\n
Under the professional diving industry (recreational) award for casual employees in FY2025, he would have received a minimum rate of $32.49 an hour, or $259.92 for an eight-hour day.<\/p>\n
During FY2026, that figure rose to $33.71 an hour.<\/p>\n
Company rejects claims<\/p>\n
Mr Priscott has lodged a complaint with the ombudsman in a bid to recoup the thousands of dollars he believes he was underpaid during six months of work.<\/p>\n
The regulator declined to comment.<\/p>\n
Ultimately, the question of whether Mr Priscott is entitled to the claimed payment will hinge on whether he should have been classified as an employee \u2013 rather than a contractor \u2013 from the time he began working for them.<\/p>\n
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The Fair Work Ombudsman declined to comment on the matter. (ABC News: Billy Cooper)<\/p>\n
In response to questions by the ABC, Dive Ningaloo said its instructors often began as contractors and were converted to casual employee status within three months.<\/p>\n
By July 2025, Mr Priscott too was onboarded as a casual employee and his superannuation paid from then on.<\/p>\n
The company said it initially engaged staff as contractors, so staff could claim tax benefits they would otherwise not qualify for.<\/p>\n
Workers typically relocated to Exmouth, provided much of their own dive equipment, and paid their PADI dive certification and insurance: all of which the company said they could claim as tax deductions.<\/p>\n
“If [Dive Ningaloo starts] people on as a casual and they are not suitable for the job and are dismissed within a week or so, then they have wasted a lot of money relocating,” the company said.<\/p>\n
“This is done to benefit the worker.”<\/p>\n
But Mr Priscott said little changed after he was made a casual employee.<\/p>\n
While he did receive superannuation payments from this time, he was still required to invoice the company to be paid.<\/p>\n
His wage remained a flat rate per day that was below the minimum award payment he was entitled to as an employee.<\/p>\n
He said he did not feel comfortable raising these concerns with Dive Ningaloo because the owner was his landlord in a cash-only rental agreement \u2013 something the company acknowledged as “subsidised” housing.<\/p>\n
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Keelan Priscott says he did not raise the issue because he feared losing his housing.\u00a0 (Supplied\/Canva)<\/p>\n
Former dean of The University of Sydney Law School Joellen Riley Munton said an examination of whose business was being served was “fundamental” when distinguishing an employee from a contractor.<\/p>\n
“Are they [the worker] running their own business or are they working in the business and for the business of a hirer?” she said.<\/p>\n
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Joellen Riley Munton is one of Australia’s leading experts in employment law. (ABC News: Adam Griffiths)<\/p>\n
Dr Riley Munton said, in her opinion, Mr Priscott’s contract bore several hallmarks of the latter, despite the fact it referred to him as a contractor.<\/p>\n
The document asked he be available at fixed start and finish times, purchase and wear a Dive Ningaloo uniform, and not take work at other companies.<\/p>\n
“One judge in our system many years ago said you can’t decide to call a rooster a duck and thereby turn it into a duck,” Dr Riley Munton said.<\/p>\n
“If it’s a rooster, it’s a rooster, no matter what label you give it.<\/p>\n
“It seems that a lot of people who are employing people in these areas, are small businesses themselves, and they’re not well advised.”\u00a0<\/p>\n
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The Ningaloo Reef attracts tens of thousands of tourists each year. (ABC News: Alistair Bates)<\/p>\n
Dive Ningaloo said it was willing to discuss the claim with Mr Priscott and had contacted the FWO to initiate a pay dispute resolution, which has not progressed.<\/p>\n
“It’s been an emotional toll because you feel that the work you’re doing is amazing, but the reward you’re getting doesn’t reflect that,” Mr Priscott said.<\/p>\n
“It’s like the wild, wild west.”<\/p>\n
Staff allege they were underpaid, overworked<\/p>\n
Other workers in Exmouth have come forward with allegations of underpayment at multiple companies, including some of those behind its famous whale shark experiences.<\/p>\n
At least five people told the ABC they had enquired with the FWO about different whale shark tour operators, but no further action had materialised.<\/p>\n
Only 15 commercial operators are granted licences by the WA government to take tourists swimming with the docile megafauna<\/a>.<\/p>\n Tours can cost more than $600 per person in some cases.<\/p>\n The remote town of Exmouth contributes more than $100 million to the WA economy. (ABC News: Alistair Bates)<\/p>\n One whale shark guide and photographer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said she worked 10 to 12 hours a day for $250, despite being a casual employee.<\/p>\n “We were never offered any extra compensation for longer days or even public holidays or weekends,” she said.<\/p>\n She also described a heavy physical toll.<\/p>\n “You get a very mixed type of clientele \u2026 who may have never snorkelled before, aren’t confident in the water, and you’re often doing it in very open ocean, in very rough conditions,” she said.<\/p>\n “More than once, I’ve pretty much saved people’s lives.” One former whale shark guide says she had to save lives on the job, but struggled with underpayment. (Supplied)<\/p>\n She said she was asked to supply and insure her own camera equipment at a cost exceeding $20,000.<\/p>\n Editing clients’ photos often saw her work late for no additional pay.<\/p>\n “For a lot of us that work in the industry up here, we’re willing to just shoulder that lack of rights, because we do love our jobs,” she said.<\/p>\n “But at the end of the day, when you look back on how much money you\u2019re making, how much stress you’re under, how long your days [are], it’s just not sustainable, it’s not affordable.<\/p>\n “And, at some point, you definitely do feel like you’ve been taken advantage of.”‘Systemic’ problems<\/p>\n Filmmaker Nate Porter said he was shocked by the “systemic” issues impacting marine tourism workers when he first arrived in Exmouth.<\/p>\n Nate Porter says he was shocked by the treatment of workers. (ABC News: Alistair Bates)<\/p>\n “Everybody up here feels very replaceable,” he said.<\/p>\n “Can\u2019t speak out, can\u2019t speak your mind \u2026 [or] you’re replaced next week.”<\/p>\n The problem compounds an extremely high cost of living<\/a> in the community.<\/p>\n “These whale sharkers that are up here are not living the glamorous life,” Mr Porter said.<\/p>\n “I’ve seen where you’ve got honestly, like 10 to 12 whale shark employees living in the same house \u2026 I’ve heard people paying as much as $400 a week in rent to live in a trailer in front of the house.”<\/p>\n Joel O’Brien says some workers reported being underpaid as much as $10 an hour. (ABC News: Alistair Bates)<\/p>\n He took the issue to the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA), which has begun its own investigation into several operators.<\/p>\n MUA north west organiser Joel O’Brien said he had contacted Dive Ningaloo late last year to request a copy of Mr Priscott’s employment records under a provision of the Fair Work Act.<\/p>\n The company did not respond within the allotted 14-day period, calling the union’s correspondence “threatening and belligerent”.<\/p>\n Mr O’Brien said more workers had approached the union, with some paid as much as $10 an hour less than they were entitled to under the marine tourism award\u00a0<\/p>\n “A lot of these people are foreign workers, migrant workers on visas, so they’re really open to exploitation,” he said.<\/p>\n Know more?<\/p>\n Email Alistair Bates on bates.alistair@abc.net.au<\/a> or securely on alistairbates@proton.me<\/a><\/p>\n Having recently relocated to New Zealand, Mr Priscott said his correspondence with the FWO was cut short because the regulator would not contact him overseas.<\/p>\n He plans to return to Australia to pursue the matter.<\/p>\n “The owners just want to reap as much reward from it as possible,” he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n “Which is quite sad, because it’s really not what the Ningaloo is about.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A growing number of workers at several Ningaloo Reef tour operators say they were underpaid and overworked in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":452155,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[22214,233462,233461,108853,26871,43,233460,44,49557,233463,16802,41,39,42,40,233459],"class_list":["post-452154","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-coral-bleaching","tag-exmouth-news","tag-exmouth-snorkeling","tag-fair-work","tag-gascoyne-news","tag-headlines","tag-humpback-whale-tours","tag-news","tag-ningaloo-reef","tag-ningaloo-reef-diving","tag-pilbara-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-whale-shark-tours"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/452154","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=452154"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/452154\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/452155"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=452154"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=452154"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=452154"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Buses,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/b87502ebf7562fdc88ac0484442503ec.jpeg\")
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