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Written Agreements

In Australia, an employment contract is an agreement between an employer and an employee that sets out terms and conditions of employment. A contract can be in writing or verbal. A contract must include the type of employment, working hours, entitlements, etc.

Employers must provide casual employees with an information statement regarding their work as soon as possible upon hiring. Employers must give a statement again after 6 months of employment, again after 12 months of employment, and 12 months thereafter. Small businesses are not required to give this statement at the 6-month period.

Oral Agreements

In Australia, oral or verbal contracts are recognized in the labor law. All employees are covered by the National Employment Standards (NES), regardless of whether they have signed a contract.

Implied Agreements

There are currently no official provisions in Australian law regarding implied contracts. Only written or verbal employment contracts are valid.

The standard workweek in Australia is 38 hours. Awards, certified agreements, and Australian Workplace Agreements generally contain provisions setting out ordinary hours of work, rest breaks as well as overtime and penalty rates.

• New South Wales - awards prescribe working weeks not exceeding 40 hours
• Queensland - law mandates that employees cannot be required to work more than:
  • 6 days in any 7 consecutive days
  • 40 hours in any 6 consecutive days
  • 8 hours in any day
• South Australia and Tasmania - awards prescribe standard working hours similar to the other states.

Eligible employees can request flexible working arrangements, such as changes to hours, patterns, or locations of work. Employees covered by an award also have some extra rights when asking for flexible working arrangements. Employees who have worked with the same employer for at least 12 months can request flexible working arrangement.

From February 2024, employees have the right to disconnect from their work outside of their normal working hours. They can refuse to monitor, read or respond to contact from an employer or a third party, unless such a refusal is unreasonable. Employees of small businesses will not have this right until August 26, 2025.

Public holidays in Australia may vary, depending on each state and territory’s laws.

Australian Capital Territory current statutory holidays:

• New Year’s Day - January 1
• Australia Day - January 26
• Canberra Day - March 9
• Good Friday (Friday before Easter Sunday) - the date is subject to change every year
• Easter Saturday, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday - dates are subject to change every year
• Anzac Day - April 25
• Reconciliation Day - the date is subject to change every year
• Queen’s Birthday - June 8
• Labour Day - October 5
• Christmas Day - December 25
• Boxing Day - December 26 (December 28 in some other states)

In Australia, employers can put their employees on a probationary period (also referred to as ‘probation’) to assess if employees are suitable for the role and business. The employer decides on the length of the probationary period. It typically ranges from 3 months to 6 months at the start of employment.

The probationary period is not a separate period of employment. While on probation, employees typically continue to receive the same entitlements as someone who is not on probation. The only commercial difference is that an employer may offer the base-level notice of termination during probation, and then additional notice of termination (above the base level under the National Employment Standard) once the employee passes probation.

Notice Period

In Australia, employers must give minimum periods of notice to employees based on the employee's continuous service, as follows:

• 1 week's notice for 1 year or less of service
• 2 weeks' notice for service between 1 and 3 years
• 3 weeks' notice for service between 3 and 5 years
• 4 weeks' notice for more than 5 years of service

Employees over 45 years old, who have worked for an employer for at least 2 years get an extra week of notice.

A contract may generally be summarily terminated if the employee is fired because of serious misconduct (e.g., engaging in theft, fraud, or assault).

Severance Benefits

In Australia, there is no provision for severance pay except for redundancy. The amount of redundancy pay varies between 4 and 16 weeks’ salary, depending on the length of an employee’s continuous service. The obligation to issue severance pay does not apply to small business employers (employers with fewer than 15 employees).

Casual employees, apprentices and those dismissed for gross misconduct are not entitled to redundancy pay.

When a business is bankrupt, employees can get help through the Fair Entitlements Guarantee (FEG). The FEG is available to eligible employees to help them get their unpaid entitlements.

Minimum Wage

The current national minimum wage for adults and employees with a disability that does not impact working capacity is set at AUD 915.90 (Australian dollars) per week, based on a 38-hour workweek, or AUD 24.10 per hour. This is valid from July 1, 2024. Casual employees receive a minimum of 25% casual loading.

There are special minimum wage rules set for certain categories of employees.

From January 1, 2025, intentionally underpaying an employee’s wages or entitlements can be a criminal offence. Employers may face criminal charges if they deliberately fail to pay employees amounts owed to them, such as wages, leave entitlements, superannuation contributions, or payments made under salary sacrifice arrangements. If the court can determine the amount of the employer’s underpayment, the maximum fine will be the higher of 3 times the amount of the underpayment, or AUD 8.25 million. In the case of an individual employer, the court can impose a maximum of 10 years in prison or a fine, or both.

Overtime, Holiday & Vacation Pay

In Australia, the standard workweek is 38 hours. An employer can request that an employee works reasonable overtime. Overtime can be reasonable so long as considerations such as health and safety are taken into account. An employee has the right to refuse to work overtime if the request is unreasonable. Overtime pay is determined in industry-level awards. Some awards and registered agreements allow an employee to take paid time off instead of being paid overtime pay.

Full-time and part-time employees are entitled to a minimum of four weeks of paid annual leave for every 12 months of continuous service.

Employees (except casual employees) who work on the day of a public holiday are paid their base pay rate for the regular hours they would have worked if they had not been away because of the public holiday.

Visas

• Visitor visas - granted for single or multiple entries for tourism, visiting family or friends, short-term business trip, or studying for up to 3 months. Multiple entry visa is valid for 12 months.
• Studying and training visas - granted to students for up to 5 years to participate in an eligible course of study or internship in Australia or bring family members.
• Family and partner visas - granted to those who wish to bring their family living outside Australia to the country for long-term or permanent stay in certain cases.
• Working and skilled visas - granted to individuals who are coming to Australia to work or for long-term business work or investment. It can be for a permanent stay or long-term stay of up to 5 years.
• Refugee and humanitarian visas -granted for temporary or permanent stay for resettlement of refugees or those seeking asylum in Australia.
• Other visas - This class includes special visas for aircraft, maritime crew members or investors.

Work Permits

Australia offers two categories of work visa: temporary and permanent. Temporary work visas generally require skilled workers where employers can't source an appropriately skilled Australian worker and allow stay for up to 4 years. Permanent work visas are usually nominated by employers and can be regional or allow working anywhere from Australia.