Fair Work Act

What you need to know
The Commonwealth government’s Fair Work Act 2009 commenced on July 1st 2009. This Act replaced the Workplace Relations Act 1996 and created a new Industrial Relations system in Australia. The Fair Work Act is lengthy, to say the least, and whilst we encourage you to read through the Act we have provided a brief summary of the changes it brought below.

The Fair Work Act applies to employers who were covered by the Workplace Relations Act.

The Act sets out minimum conditions of employment. These are referred to as the National Employment Standards (NES).