Robert Hortle was appointed Commissioner of Wage Inspectorate Victoria when it became a statutory authority in 2021. Before this, he was Director of the Wage Inspectorate within the Department of Premier and Cabinet.

Robert is an accomplished government executive with more than 20 years’ regulatory experience in the industrial relations field at state and federal levels. He has previously held senior executive and management positions at the Fair Work Ombudsman, the national workplace regulator, in compliance, education, policy and corporate services.

At the Wage Inspectorate, Robert has overseen the rollout of compliance functions relating to child employment, long service leave, wage theft and owner driver and forestry contractor laws.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in Business (Human Resource Management), postgraduate qualifications in Public Sector Management, and is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Robert has also completed studies through the Governance Institute of Australia and Harvard Kennedy School in the United States.