Two Fijian men in South Australia worked eight hours a day, seven days a week at Adelaide's Port Adelaide docks for a living-away-from-home allowance of $100 a day, the Australian government's Fair Work Ombudsman alleges.

The two were allegedly underpaid more than A$25,000 (USD25.58 million) by Sydney-based Devine Marine Group, which provides shipping and marine salvage services.

The Fair Work Ombudsman has launched legal action against the company in the Federal Magistrates court in Adelaide, alleging it engaged the men under an unlawful unpaid training arrangement.

Also facing Court is Devine Marine Group sole director and majority-owner Captain Brett Barry Devine, of Sydney, and Adelaide Nautical College principal Arthur Boucaut-Jones, of Largs Bay in Adelaide.

Devine Marine Group allegedly recruited the two workers from Fiji, assisted them with accommodation, airfares and obtaining sub-class 456 Short Stay Business Visas and paid them a ‘living-away allowance’ of A$100 (USD102) a day.

The two workers allegedly performed three months and six months of work respectively, with duties including painting, welding and labouring.

However, the Fair Work Ombudsman alleges they were not paid any wages or superannuation under the premise that the work was part of purported unpaid-training being provided to them by the

Australian Nautical College, in conjunction with Devine Marine Group.

Court documents allege that it was not lawful for the work to be classed as unpaid-training.

Source: AAP