Contracts of Employment and Workplace Agreements
"Don't just rubber stamp it, check it!"
What are workplace agreements?
Workplace agreements set out the conditions of employment between:
- an employee or group of employees
- an employer.
All workplace agreements are written documents.
Workplace agreements we cover
The Workplace Authority is responsible for the following types of workplace agreements:
- individual transitional employment agreement (ITEA)
- employee collective agreement
- union collective agreement
- employer greenfields agreement
- union greenfields agreement
- multiple business agreement.
Important! Workplace agreements were made under the Workplace Relations Act 1996. This Commonwealth Act stopped operating on 1 July 2009.
Enterprise agreements
From 1 July 2009, you can make agreements called enterprise agreements under the new Fair Work Act 2009. The Workplace Authority is not responsible for enterprise agreements.
Find out more about enterprise agreements.
Go to: www.FairWork.com.au
Lodging your workplace agreement
Since 1 July 2009, the rules for lodging certain workplace agreements have changed.
Workplace agreements, variation agreements and terminations approved
on or before 30 June 2009 must be lodged with the Workplace Authority within 14 days of approval. The exceptions are:
- union collective agreements must be approved and lodged by 30 September 2009
- employer greenfields agreements can not be lodged after 30 June 2009
- all no-disadvantage test variations must be lodged within 37 days after
the date of the notice advising the agreement did not pass the
no-disadvantage test or from 1 July, whichever is the later date.
Agreements which are not lodged on time can not start operating.
If your workplace agreement is lodged on time we will assess the agreement against the no-disadvantage test.
All workplace agreements:
- undergo the no-disadvantage test (if lodged since 28 March 2008)
- must be approved voluntarily - no one can be forced to approve an agreement
- override employment conditions created by most state / territory laws
- do not override state or territory laws covering:
- occupational health and safety
- workers compensation
- child labour
- equal employment opportunity and discrimination
- training arrangements.
What happens to workplace agreements after 1 July 2009?
All workplace agreements will keep operating as 'transitional instruments’ under the new Fair Work Act 2009. A workplace agreement that starts operating after 1 July 2009, will become a transitional instrument under the Fair Work Act 2009.
There are new rules for varying or terminating transitional instruments.
Rules about the content of workplace agreements and how a workplace
agreement interacts with another instrument or state / territory law
remain the same under the Fair Work Act 2009. For example, once an agreement starts operating it replaces any award that applied and may replace an existing agreement.
Publishing collective agreements
Collective agreements that pass the fairness test or the no-disadvantage test are published on www.FairWork.com.au.
Don't want your agreement published? If there are reasons why your
agreement shouldn't be published, you can apply for an exemption. An
exemption will only be granted in exceptional circumstances and certain
grounds must be satisfied.
Please send us your inquiry and we'll call you.
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