Fair Work Act 2009
Sections and provisions with full text and the judgments that cite each one.
Section 19 — Meaning of industrial action
(1) Industrial action means action of any of the following kinds: (a) the performance of work by an employee in a manner different from that in which it is customarily performed, or the adoption of a…
Section 19A — Meaning of industrial action: regulated workers
(1) This section applies to a regulated worker and to a regulated business if: (a) the regulated worker is covered by a minimum standards order, or is mentioned in an application for a minimum…
Section 20 — Meaning of ordinary hours of work for award/agreement free employees
Agreed ordinary hours of work (1) The ordinary hours of work of an award/agreement free employee are the hours agreed by the employee and his or her national system employer as the employee’s…
Section 21 — Meaning of pieceworker
(1) A pieceworker is: (a) a national system employee to whom a modern award applies and who is defined or described in the award as a pieceworker; or (b) a national system employee to whom an…
Section 22 — Meanings of service and continuous service
General meaning (1) A period of service by a national system employee with his or her national system employer is a period during which the employee is employed by the employer, but does not include…
Section 23 — Meaning of small business employer
(1) A national system employer is a small business employer at a particular time if the employer employs fewer than 15 employees at that time. (2) For the purpose of calculating the number of…
Section 23A — Terms relating to superannuation
(1) MySuper product has the meaning given by the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993. (1A) A standard MySuper product is a MySuper product that is not an employer MySuper product. (1B) An…
Section 23B — Meaning of general building and construction work
(1) Work is general building and construction work if: (a) the work is done, onsite, by an employee in the industry of: (i) general building and construction within the meaning of paragraph 4.3(a) of…
Section 24 — Transitional provision—President
(1) The person holding office as the President of FWA immediately before the commencement of Part 1 of Schedule 9 to the amending Act continues to hold office as the President of the FWC. (2) If,…
Section 24A — Application of amendments—presumption where records not provided
Section 557C of the amended Act applies in relation to contraventions of civil remedy provisions that occur after the commencement of this Part.
Section 25 — Transitional provision—Deputy President
(1) Subject to subclause (2), a person holding office as a Deputy President of FWA immediately before the commencement of Part 1 of Schedule 9 to the amending Act continues to hold office as a Deputy…
Section 26 — Act excludes State or Territory industrial laws
(1) This Act is intended to apply to the exclusion of all State or Territory industrial laws so far as they would otherwise apply in relation to a national system employee or a national system…
Section 27 — State and Territory laws that are not excluded by section 26
(1A) Section 26 does not apply to any of the following laws: (a) the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 of New South Wales; (b) the Equal Opportunity Act 2010 of Victoria; (c) the Anti-Discrimination Act…
Section 28 — Application of amendments—when employees have genuinely agreed to an enterprise agreement
(1) The amendments of section 188 of this Act made by Schedule 2 to the amending Act apply in relation to an application made under section 185 of this Act for approval of an enterprise agreement if…
Section 29 — Transitional provision—General Manager and staff of FWA
General Manager (1) The person holding office as the General Manager of FWA immediately before the commencement of Part 1 of Schedule 9 to the amending Act continues to hold office: (a) as the…
Section 30 — Disclosure by organisations and employers
The amendments of Subdivision A of Division 4 of Part 2-4 made by Schedule 2 to the Fair Work Amendment (Corrupting Benefits) Act 2017 apply in relation to a proposed enterprise agreement for which…
Section 30A — Meaning of terms used in this Division
(1) In this Division: amendment reference of a State means the reference by the Parliament of the State to the Parliament of the Commonwealth of the matters covered by subsection 30B(4). excluded…
Section 30B — Meaning of referring State
Reference of matters by State Parliament to Commonwealth Parliament (1) A State is a referring State if the Parliament of the State has, before 1 July 2009, referred the matters covered by…
Section 30C — Extended meaning of national system employee
(1) A national system employee includes: (a) any individual in a State that is a referring State because of this Division so far as he or she is employed, or usually employed, as described in…
Section 30D — Extended meaning of national system employer
(1) A national system employer includes: (a) any person in a State that is a referring State because of this Division so far as the person employs, or usually employs, an individual; and (b) a holder…
Section 30E — Extended ordinary meanings of employee and employer
(1) A reference in this Act to an employee with its ordinary meaning includes a reference to a law enforcement officer of a State that is a referring State because of this Division if the State’s…
Section 30F — Extended meaning of outworker entity
(1) An outworker entity includes a person, other than in the person’s capacity as a national system employer, so far as: (a) the person arranges for work to be performed for the person (either…
Section 30G — General protections
(1) Part 3-1 (which deals with general protections) applies to action taken in a State that is a referring State because of this Division. (2) This section applies despite section 337 (which limits…
Section 30H — Division only has effect if supported by reference
A provision of this Division has effect in relation to a State that is a referring State because of this Division only to the extent that the State’s referral law refers to the Parliament of the…
Section 30K — Meaning of terms used in this Division
(1) In this Division: amendment reference of a State means the reference by the Parliament of the State to the Parliament of the Commonwealth of the matters covered by subsection 30L(4). excluded…
Section 30L — Meaning of referring State
Reference of matters by State Parliament to Commonwealth Parliament (1) A State is a referring State if the Parliament of the State has, after 1 July 2009 but on or before 1 January 2010, referred…
Section 30M — Extended meaning of national system employee
(1) A national system employee includes: (a) any individual in a State that is a referring State because of this Division so far as he or she is employed, or usually employed, as described in…
Section 30N — Extended meaning of national system employer
(1) A national system employer includes: (a) any person in a State that is a referring State because of this Division so far as the person employs, or usually employs, an individual; and (b) a holder…
Section 30P — Extended ordinary meanings of employee and employer
(1) A reference in this Act to an employee with its ordinary meaning includes a reference to a law enforcement officer of a referring State if the State’s referral law so provides for the purposes of…
Section 30Q — Extended meaning of outworker entity
(1) An outworker entity includes a person, other than in the person’s capacity as a national system employer, so far as: (a) the person arranges for work to be performed for the person (either…
Section 30R — General protections
(1) Part 3-1 (which deals with general protections) applies to action taken in a State that is a referring State because of this Division. (2) This section applies despite section 337 (which limits…
Section 30S — Division only has effect if supported by reference
A provision of this Division has effect in relation to a State that is a referring State because of this Division only to the extent that the State’s referral law refers to the Parliament of the…
Section 31 — Exclusion of persons etc. insufficiently connected with Australia
(1) A provision of this Act prescribed by the regulations does not apply to a person or entity in Australia prescribed by the regulations as a person to whom, or an entity to which, the provision…
Section 32 — Regulations about application, transitional and saving matters
(1) The regulations may prescribe matters of an application, transitional or saving nature relating to the amendments and repeals made by the amending Act. (2) Without limiting subclause (1), the…
Section 32A — Rules may modify application of this Act in Norfolk Island
(1) The Minister may, by legislative instrument, make rules prescribing modifications of this Act for its application in relation to Norfolk Island. (2) To avoid doubt, the rules may not do the…
Section 33 — Extension of this Act to the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf
Extension to Australian ships etc. (1) Without limiting subsection (3), this Act extends to or in relation to: (a) any Australian ship in the exclusive economic zone or in the waters above the…
Section 34 — Extension of this Act beyond the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf
Extension to Australian ships etc. (1) Without limiting subsection (3), this Act extends to or in relation to: (a) any Australian ship outside the outer limits of the exclusive economic zone and the…
Section 35 — Meanings of Australian employer and Australian-based employee
(1) An Australian employer is an employer that: (a) is a trading corporation formed within the limits of the Commonwealth (within the meaning of paragraph 51(xx) of the Constitution); or (b) is a…
Section 35A — Regulations excluding application of Act
(1) Regulations made for the purposes of section 32 or subsection 33(4) or 34(4) may exclude the application of the whole of this Act in relation to all or a part of an area referred to in section 32…
Section 36 — Geographical application of offences
Division 14 (Standard geographical jurisdiction) of the Criminal Code does not apply in relation to an offence against this Act. Note: The extended geographical application that this Division gives…
Section 37 — Act binds Crown
(1) This Act binds the Crown in each of its capacities. (2) However, this Act does not make the Crown liable to be prosecuted for an offence, except as provided for by subsection (3). (3) The Crown…
Section 38 — Act not to apply so as to exceed Commonwealth power
(1) Unless the contrary intention appears, if a provision of this Act: (a) would, apart from this section, have an application (an invalid application) in relation to: (i) one or more particular…
Section 39 — Entitlement to unpaid family and domestic violence leave
(1) Subdivision CA of Division 7 of Part 2-2, as inserted by the Fair Work Amendment (Family and Domestic Violence Leave) Act 2018, applies in relation to an employee whose employment started before…
Section 40 — Interaction between fair work instruments and public sector employment laws
Generally, public sector employment laws prevail (1) A public sector employment law prevails over a fair work instrument that deals with public sector employment, to the extent of any inconsistency.…
Section 40A — Application of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901
(1) The Acts Interpretation Act 1901, as in force on 25 June 2009, applies to this Act. (2) Amendments of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 made after that day do not apply to this Act.
Section 40B — Effect of the Migration Act 1958
For the purposes of this Act, any effect of the Migration Act 1958, or an instrument made under that Act, on the validity of a contract of employment, or the validity of a contract for services, is…
Section 40C — Guide to this Part
This Part deals with special provisions relating to the road transport industry. Division 2 sets out the road transport objective. The Expert Panel for the road transport industry must have regard to…
Section 40D — The road transport objective
In performing a function or exercising a power under this Act, the Expert Panel for the road transport industry must take into account the need for an appropriate safety net of minimum standards for…
Section 40E — Establishment of Road Transport Advisory Group
(1) There is to be a Road Transport Advisory Group. (2) The function of the Road Transport Advisory Group is to advise the FWC in relation to matters that relate to the road transport industry…
Section 40F — Membership of Road Transport Advisory Group
(1) The Road Transport Advisory Group consists of such members as the Minister from time to time appoints. (2) In appointing the members of the Road Transport Advisory Group, the Minister must ensure…