ALDI
Harm on record. Has recent confirmed harm to workers that it hasn't put right.
Last researched 2 November 2026 · 10 sources
Discount supermarket chain selling mostly exclusive brands, part of ALDI South.
In 2026, ALDI's store and warehouse staff won a settlement over unpaid work before and after their rostered shifts.
Also worth knowing
ALDI has only partly put this right.
Other supermarkets brands
Nothing we've rated in supermarkets is better than Lacks transparency yet.
Know something we've missed? Send evidence. Represent ALDI? Send a right of reply.
Compare ALDI with another brand
Why it's graded Harm on record
- Not met: Meets 3 of 6 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It doesn't show that workers are paid a living wage, and isn't certified as working towards one. On Track needs at least one of these.
- Holds the grade back: It's Harm on record because of a serious confirmed problem from the last 5 years that it has only partly put right: unpaid or underpaid wages, last recorded in 2026.
- Checks its own supply chain. ALDI looks for problems in its own supply chain and publishes what it finds. It found unpaid or underpaid wages in 2025 and is fixing it, so it doesn't count against the grade. Another problem on its record counts against the grade: unpaid or underpaid wages in 2026. They're listed below under Confirmed issues.
Good requirements 3 of 6
- Not met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certificationLiving wage: no evidence
- Met: Respects worker rights
- Met: Supply chain independently audited or certified, or at least 80% made in countries with strong labour standards
- Met: No confirmed child or forced labour findings or linksAn unconfirmed report of forced labour is listed below. It doesn't affect the grade.
- Not met: Names the factories or farms that make its products, or is fully certified by a scheme that holds and audits that list
- Not met: Farm and labour hire checks published, and high-risk ingredients (palm oil and tomato paste and canned tomatoes) traced or certified where they're a major part of its rangeNot traced or certified: palm oil
Red flags 1
- Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wage
Stars it would earn as Good
None yet. Stars only show on Good companies. About stars
Where it's made
ALDI names some of the countries it makes in: Australia. The rest is shown as where own-brand and fresh food is usually grown or made.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | Strong protections | About a living wage | Low |
| ChinaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| New ZealandUsual for the industry | Strong protections | About a living wage | Low |
| ThailandUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| ItalyUsual for the industry | Strong protections | Close to a living wage | Low |
| VietnamUsual for the industry | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| MalaysiaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| IndiaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | High |
Evidence
What we found
- Modern slavery statement
- Requires Fair Farms certification or ethical audits of the Australian farms and meatworks that supply its fruit, vegetables and meat Source
- Independent social audits of all its main factories
- It requires ethical audits or Fair Farms certification of its Australian suppliers, but doesn't publish what the checks find and what workers were repaid, so it can't show that farm and labour hire workers get what they're owed. Source
- Doesn't show where its palm oil comes from. Palm oil is linked to forced and child labour on some Malaysian and Indonesian plantations, so it can't be graded Good until it traces or certifies it.
- Uses tomato paste and canned tomatoes in only a few products and doesn't show where they come from. That doesn't count against it for Good, but the "Open supply chain" star needs all of them traced, certified or upcycled.
Research notes ALDI Australia takes an 'Australia first' approach to fresh produce and says more than 1,000 of its 1,800-plus business partners are Australian, with merchandise from 56 countries, but gives no shares by volume and doesn't name its suppliers. It requires third-party social audits of fresh produce packing sites (accepting Fair Farms and SMETA) and of factories in high-risk countries, and its 2025 statement publishes what the produce audits found and how many findings were fixed, though not what workers were repaid. Exclusive-brand palm oil must be RSPO certified, but the supply chain model isn't stated. This record covers the supermarkets; ALDI's Special Buys clothing and its own-brand coffee, tea and chocolate are graded in separate Labour Lens records.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Australian Modern Slavery Register | Listed | ALDI Stores (A Limited Partnership) publishes an annual modern slavery statement; the 2025 statement reports 205 fresh produce sites reviewed, 56 risks found and how many were remediated, but no amounts repaid to workers. View |
| Business & Human Rights Resource Centre | Problem found | Reports ALDI's 2026 settlement of about $55 million with some 32,000 Australian workers over unpaid work before and after shifts, and a 2022 Federal Court finding against it over its Sydney warehouse. View |
| US Department of Labor goods lists | Listed | The US Department of Labor's 2024 list names tomato products from China, palm fruit and palm oil from Indonesia and Malaysia, and fish and shrimp from Thailand as made with forced labour; ALDI sells own-brand tomato paste, uses palm oil in its exclusive brands and sources food from Thailand. View |
Confirmed issues 2
Only confirmed problems are listed, and old ones drop off after 10 to 15 years. A problem the company has fully put right no longer counts against it, and nor does one it finds and is fixing itself. How problems are counted
| Last recorded | What happened | Made amends? |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | A 2022 Federal Circuit and Family Court judgment found ALDI breached workplace laws by impliedly directing Sydney warehouse staff to start work 15 minutes before their rostered shifts, and in 2026 ALDI settled a union class action for about $55 million covering some 32,000 store and warehouse staff not paid for work before and after shifts (Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, 2026). Source · search the archive | PartlyALDI back-paid about $28.9 million; the settlement adds about $26.3 million plus interest, payable by 31 March 2027, and was approved by the court in October 2026. ALDI admitted no liability. |
| 2025 | ALDI's 2025 modern slavery statement reports that social audits of 205 Australian fresh produce sites found 56 risks at 40 sites, including 10 on wage payments and 12 forced labour indicators, mostly employment-related costs charged to workers and unauthorised wage deductions (ALDI Modern Slavery Statement 2025). Source · search the archiveFound and being fixed by the company Not counted against the grade while the company is actively fixing it, because it found and published it itself. | PartlyALDI reports that 10 of the 12 forced labour indicators and 60% of the wage findings were remediated, and that most of the 14 labour hire providers that failed its standards had been delisted. |
Unconfirmed reports
Credible reports that haven't been confirmed by a regulator, completed investigation or the company. They're shown for your information and don't affect the grade.
- Lab testing for ABC Four Corners in 2026 found ALDI's Remano tomato paste tested positive for Chinese-grown tomatoes, where tomato products are on the US forced labour list; ALDI rejects the claim and the ACCC is investigating (FoodNavigator, 2026). Source
Sources and actions
Sources 10
Show all 10 sources
- Australia: Aldi settles underpayments claim for AU$55 million after union alleges unpaid overtime (Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, 16 Jul 2026) · search the archive · About 32,000 workers; unpaid work before and after rostered shifts; AU$55 million settlement without admission; 2022 Federal Court judgment found ALDI breached workplace laws by directing Sydney warehouse staff to start 15 minutes early
- List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor (US Department of Labor, 2024) · search the archive · 2024 list of goods produced with child or forced labour, including tomato products from China, palm oil from Indonesia and Malaysia, and fish and shrimp from Thailand
- ALDI's $55M class action settles unpaid shift work for 32,000 staff (HCAMag, 24 Oct 2026) · search the archive · Federal Court approved the settlement on 23 October 2026; 32,308 current and former employees; about $28.9 million already paid through a voluntary programme, an estimated $16.3 million more plus interest; payments to start by May 2027; no admission of liability
- Settlement pushes Aldi class action payments past $55 million (Inside Retail, Jul 2026) · search the archive · About 32,000 employees; ALDI says it has already paid around $28.9 million; settlement without admission; ALDI earlier called the problems isolated and not systemic
- 'Damning results': Australia investigates alleged food fraud in supermarkets (FoodNavigator, 25 Aug 2026) · search the archive · ALDI's Remano tomato paste tested positive for Chinese origin; ACCC investigating since 7 August 2026
- ALDI class action (SDA) · search the archive · Federal Court approved the settlement on 23 October 2026; total about $55.2 million including payments already made; payments due by 31 March 2027
- Major settlement proposed in SDA's ALDI underpayment class action (SDA, 2026) · search the archive · About $28.9 million already paid by ALDI and about $26.3 million more under the proposed settlement, plus interest
Published by ALDI or its owner
- ALDI Modern Slavery Statement 2025 (ALDI Stores (A Limited Partnership)) · search the archive · Calendar 2025; 605 stores and more than 17,000 employees; more than 1,800 business partners, over 1,000 in Australia; 56 sourcing countries for merchandise; Australia-first produce sourcing
- Modern Slavery & Human Rights (ALDI Australia) · search the archive · Australia-first fresh produce sourcing; third-party social audits required for final processing facilities, accepting Fair Farms and SMETA; valid third-party audits required for all production facilities in high-risk countries and categories; Issara Institute in Thai food supply chains
- Palm oil (ALDI Australia) · search the archive · Palm and palm kernel oil in ALDI-exclusive branded products must be RSPO certified and suppliers must be RSPO members; supply chain model not stated
Company details
- Headquarters
- Australia
- Employees
- About 17,000
- Last researched
- 2 November 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is ALDI ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/aldi-supermarkets, last researched 2 November 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Harm on record means
Something missing or wrong?
Grades are opinions based on the evidence listed here. Send us evidence, or a right of reply if you represent ALDI.