Fair Work Act 2009
Sections and provisions with full text and the judgments that cite each one.
Section 40G — Road Transport Advisory Group subcommittees
(1) The Road Transport Advisory Group may establish subcommittees to advise it in relation to matters relevant to the performance of its functions. (2) A subcommittee may include persons who are not…
Section 41 — Guide to this Part
This Part has the core provisions for this Chapter, which deals with terms and conditions of employment of national system employees. The main terms and conditions come from the National Employment…
Section 42 — Amendments about stillbirth, death and hospitalisation of children
Unpaid parental leave (1) The amendments of Division 5 (parental leave and related entitlements) of Part 2-2 made by Schedule 1 to the amending Act apply in relation to the stillbirth or death of a…
Section 43 — Amendments about flexible unpaid parental leave
Application provision (1) The amendments of Division 5 of Part 2-2 made by Schedule 2 to the amending Act apply in relation to a child if the child’s date of birth, or day of placement, is on or…
Section 44 — Definitions
In this Part: amended Act means this Act as amended by the Fair Work Amendment (Supporting Australia’s Jobs and Economic Recovery) Act 2021. amending Act means the Fair Work Amendment (Supporting…
Section 45 — Resolving uncertainties and difficulties about interaction between enterprise agreements and the definition of casual employee and casual conversion rights
(1) On application by an employer, employee or employee organisation covered by an enterprise agreement that was made before commencement, the FWC may make a determination varying the agreement: (a)…
Section 46 — Application of certain amendments
(1) Section 15A of the amended Act applies on and after commencement in relation to offers of employment that were given before, on or after commencement. (2) Subclause (1) does not apply in relation…
Section 47 — Transitioning casual employees
(1) This clause applies in relation to an employee and an employer (other than a small business employer) if any or all of the following apply: (a) the employee was, immediately before commencement…
Section 47A — Casual employees of small business employers
(1) This clause applies in relation to an employee and a small business employer if any or all of the following apply: (a) the employee was, immediately before commencement (and disregarding…
Section 48 — Variations to modern awards
(1) If: (a) a modern award is made before commencement; and (b) the modern award is in operation on commencement; and (c) immediately before commencement, the modern award includes a term (the…
Section 49 — When a modern award is in operation
When a modern award comes into operation (1) A modern award comes into operation: (a) on 1 July in the next financial year after it is made; or (b) if it is made on 1 July in a financial year—on that…
Section 49A — Applications for orders to stop sexual harassment
The amendments of section 789FC made by the Sex Discrimination and Fair Work (Respect at Work) Amendment Act 2021 apply in relation to an application made under that section after the end of the…
Section 50 — Contravening an enterprise agreement
A person must not contravene a term of an enterprise agreement. Note 1: This section is a civil remedy provision (see Part 4-1). Note 2: A person does not contravene a term of an enterprise agreement…
Section 51 — Definitions
In this Part: amending Act means the Fair Work Amendment (Paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave) Act 2022. deferred start day means the day after the end of the period of 3 months beginning on the…
Section 52 — Entitlement to paid family and domestic violence leave
Non-small business employees (1) The amendments made by Schedule 1 to the amending Act apply in relation to an employee, other than a small business employee, whose employment starts on or after the…
Section 53 — When an enterprise agreement covers an employer, employee or employee organisation
Employees and employers (1) An enterprise agreement covers an employee or employer if the agreement is expressed to cover (however described) the employee or the employer. Employee organisations (2)…
Section 54 — Entitlement to extended paid family and domestic violence leave provisions
National system employees (1) The amendments made by Schedule 2 to the amending Act apply in relation to a national system employee, whether the employee’s employment started before or after the…
Section 55 — Interaction between the National Employment Standards and a modern award or enterprise agreement
National Employment Standards must not be excluded (1) A modern award or enterprise agreement must not exclude the National Employment Standards or any provision of the National Employment Standards.…
Section 56 — Appeal of decisions of the Registered Organisations Commissioner
Divisions 3 and 4 of Part 5-1, as amended by Division 2 of Part 1 of Schedule 1 to the amending Act, have effect as if a reference to a decision made under the Registered Organisations Act by the…
Section 57 — Objects of the Act
(1) Sections 3 and 134 of the amended Act apply, after commencement, in relation to the FWC performing functions, or exercising powers, in relation to: (a) a matter that arises after commencement; or…
Section 57A — Designated outworker terms of a modern award continue to apply
(1) This section applies if, at a particular time: (a) an enterprise agreement applies to an employer; and (b) a modern award covers the employer (whether the modern award covers the employer in the…
Section 58 — Only one enterprise agreement can apply to an employee
Only one enterprise agreement can apply to an employee (1) Only one enterprise agreement can apply to an employee at a particular time. General rule—later agreement does not apply until earlier…
Section 59 — Pay secrecy
(1) Section 333B of the amended Act applies after commencement in relation to an employee if: (a) the employee’s contract of employment is entered into on or after commencement; or (b) the employee’s…
Section 60 — Prohibiting sexual harassment in connection with work
(1) Despite the amendments of Part 6-4B made by Schedule 1 to the amending Act, that Part, as in force immediately before the commencement of Division 1 of Part 8 of that Schedule, continues to…
Section 61 — The National Employment Standards are minimum standards applying to employment of employees
(1) This Part sets minimum standards that apply to the employment of employees which cannot be displaced, even if an enterprise agreement includes terms of the kind referred to in subsection 55(5).…
Section 62 — Maximum weekly hours
Maximum weekly hours of work (1) An employer must not request or require an employee to work more than the following number of hours in a week unless the additional hours are reasonable: (a) for a…
Section 63 — Modern awards and enterprise agreements may provide for averaging of hours of work
(1) A modern award or enterprise agreement may include terms providing for the averaging of hours of work over a specified period. The average weekly hours over the period must not exceed: (a) for a…
Section 64 — Averaging of hours of work for award/agreement free employees
(1) An employer and an award/agreement free employee may agree in writing to an averaging arrangement under which hours of work over a specified period of not more than 26 weeks are averaged. The…
Section 65 — Requests for flexible working arrangements
Employee may request change in working arrangements (1) If: (a) any of the circumstances referred to in subsection (1A) apply to an employee; and (b) the employee would like to change his or her…
Section 65A — Responding to requests for flexible working arrangements
Responding to the request (1) If, under subsection 65(1), an employee requests an employer for a change in working arrangements relating to circumstances that apply to the employee, the employer must…
Section 65B — Disputes about the operation of this Division
Application of this section (1) This section applies to a dispute between an employer and an employee about the operation of this Division if: (a) the dispute relates to a request by the employee to…
Section 65C — Arbitration
(1) For the purposes of paragraph 65B(4)(b), the FWC may deal with the dispute by arbitration by making any of the following orders: (a) if the employer has not given the employee a written response…
Section 66 — Genuine agreement in relation to enterprise agreements
Despite the amendments made by Part 14 of Schedule 1 to the amending Act, Part 2-4 continues to apply, as if the amendments had not been made, in relation to: (a) any proposed enterprise agreement…
Section 66A — Division applies to casual employees etc.
(1) This Division applies in relation to an employee who is a casual employee. (2) A reference in this Division to full-time employment or part-time employment is taken not to include employment for…
Section 66AAA — Object of this Division
The object of this Division is to establish a framework for dealing with changes to casual employment status that: (a) is quick, flexible and informal; and (b) addresses the needs of employers and…
Section 66MA — Arbitration
FWC may make any orders it considers appropriate (1) For the purposes of paragraph 66M(6)(b), the FWC may deal with the dispute by arbitration, including by making any orders it considers…
Section 66AAB — Employee notification
A casual employee may give an employer a written notification under this section if: (a) having regard to subsections 15A(1) to (4) and the employee’s current employment relationship with the…
Section 66AAC — Employer response
Timing of response (1) An employer must give an employee a written response to a notification given under section 66AAB within 21 days after the notification is given to the employer. Information…
Section 66AAD — Effect of employer acceptance of employee notification
(1) If an employer responds under section 66AAC that the employer accepts an employee’s notification given under section 66AAB, the employee is taken to be a full-time employee or part-time employee…
Section 66K — Effect of change
To avoid doubt, an employee is taken, on and after the day specified in a notice for the purposes of subparagraph 66AAC(2)(b)(iii), to be a full-time employee or part-time employee of the employer…
Section 66L — Other rights and obligations
(1) An employer must not do any of the following in order to avoid any right or obligation under this Division: (a) reduce or vary an employee’s hours of work; (b) change the employee’s pattern of…
Section 66M — Disputes about the operation of this Division
Application of this section to disputes about employee choice (1) This section applies to a dispute between an employer and an employee about the operation of Subdivision B of this Division.…
Section 67 — General rule—employee must have completed at least 12 months of service
Employees other than casual employees (1) An employee, other than a casual employee, is not entitled to leave under this Division (other than unpaid pre-adoption leave or unpaid no safe job leave)…
Section 68 — General rule for adoption-related leave—child must be under 16 etc.
An employee is not entitled to adoption-related leave unless the child that is, or is to be, placed with the employee for adoption: (a) is, or will be, under 16 as at the day of placement, or the…
Section 69 — Transfer of employment situations in which employee is entitled to continue on leave etc.
(1) If: (a) there is a transfer of employment in relation to an employee; and (b) the employee has already started a period of leave under this Division when the employee’s employment with the first…
Section 70 — Entitlement to unpaid parental leave
An employee is entitled to 12 months of unpaid parental leave if: (a) the leave is associated with: (i) the birth of a child of the employee or the employee’s spouse or de facto partner; or (ii) the…
Section 71 — The period of leave
Application of this section (1) This section applies to an employee who intends to take unpaid parental leave. Leave must be taken in single continuous period (2) The employee must take the leave in…
Section 72 — Industrial action
(2) The amendments of sections 437 and 440 made by Division 2 of Part 19 of Schedule 1 to the amending Act apply in relation to an application made under subsection 437(1) of this Act on or after the…
Section 72A — Flexible unpaid parental leave
Taking leave during 24 months starting on date of birth or day of placement (1) An employee may take up to 100 days (or, if a higher number of days is prescribed by the regulations, that higher…
Section 73 — Pregnant employee may be required to take unpaid parental leave within 6 weeks before the birth
Employer may ask employee to provide a medical certificate (1) If a pregnant employee who is entitled to unpaid parental leave (whether or not the employee has complied with section 74) continues to…