About one in five Queensland workers are likely victims of wage theft, according to a report due to be released on Monday.

Research by the progressive McKell Institute found at least 437,000 Queenslanders, or 18 per cent of the workforce, were likely to have not been paid their full wages and entitlements, not including superannuation.

Wage theft is costing Queensland workers dearly, a report has revealed. Credit:Louie Douvis

If all wage-theft victims were losing 5 per cent of their income a year, at the median wage of $55,800, that would equate to $1.2 billion in lost earnings, the report said.

At the same time, it was estimated 580,150 Queenslanders, or 23 per cent of the workforce, were likely to have been underpaid superannuation, or not paid superannuation at all, amounting to more than $1.1 billion in foregone super each year.