Introduction to the National Employment Standards:
The Fair Work Commission is Australia’s national workplace relations tribunal. The National Employment Standards (NES) are minimum employment entitlements that have to be provided to all employees in the national workplace relations system. Some rules and exclusions apply.
The minimum entitlements of the NES are:
- Maximum weekly hours;
- Requests for flexible working arrangements;
- Parental leave and related entitlements;
- Annual leave;
- Sick & carers leave & compassionate leave;
- Family & domestic violence leave;
- Community service leave;
- Long service leave;
- Public holidays;
- Notice of termination & redundancy pay;
- Superannuation;
- Provision of the Fair work Information Statement & Casual Information Statement;
- Casual conversion.
| National minimum wage: From 1 July 2026. |
Full-time employees: $26.44 per hour or $1004.90 per week (based on a 38-hour week). |
Part-time employees: $26.44 per hour. |
Casual employees: $33.05 per hour. |
Who does the NES apply to?
The NES apply to all employees covered by the national workplace relations system. However, only certain entitlements apply to casual employees (rules and exclusions apply). Terms in awards, registered agreements and employment contracts cannot exclude or provide for an entitlement less than the NES. Those that do have no effect. However, they can affect the operation of the NES in certain ways.
Do you know your Award?
Awards are legal documents that outline the minimum pay rates and conditions of employment. There are more than 100 industry or occupation awards that cover most people who work in Australia. An employer can be covered by more than one award depending on the jobs the employees do.
Pay & Conditions:
It is important that employers know their Award/s and which classification covers their employees. This will ensure the pay & conditions of employees are accurately applied. Awards differ for aspects such as hourly rates, penalty rates, allowances, minimum entitlements and leave loading.
Mandatory PAYROLL Documentation & Record-Keeping
When you are onboarding a new employee, you need to obtain mandatory information by asking your future employee to complete the following forms:
These forms can be completed online via employee’s MyGov account or by filling out Paper or PDF form.
Employers must retain completed forms for 5 years.
Also, Fair Work Act requires employers to keep the records of the following documentation:
- employer’s and employee’s names;
- employer’s ABN;
- employee’s commencement date;
- whether the employee is full-time or part-time;
- whether the employee is permanent, temporary or casual.
Furthermore, time and wages records have to be kept which can be:
- readily accessible to a Fair Work Inspector;
- legible;
- in English.
Employers have to keep time and wages records for 7 years.
It is important to note that, it is the business owner’s responsibility to ensure these forms are collected and saved to the employees personnel file in a confidential, safe & secure manner.
Am I paying my employees correctly?
It’s extremely important to ensure your employees are paid correctly and provided with the correct entitlements. We recommend having a written contract of employment for each employee along with seeking advice on pay & conditions. Award interpretation can be tricky and often varies between industries.
At All Square Accountants, our team is qualified to provide Taxation, Bookkeeping and Accounting services. For specific assistance on pay & conditions along with general HR advice, we would recommend you contacting Human Resources professionals.
Who can I contact for HR Advice?
Brooke Hurt – Founding Director
Phone: 0484 140 738
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://jessiegrace.com.au/
