6 expert workplace compliance tips for every employer

Navigating the intricate web of workplace legislation might feel daunting, but ensuring compliance isn’t just a legal necessity – it’s essential for fostering a fair and thriving workplace. Recent data from the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) reveal that almost half of the Australian businesses audited were found to be in breach of workplace laws, highlighting just how prevalent workplace relations compliance issues can be. From unpaid wages to inadequate record-keeping, these breaches not only expose businesses to serious legal risks but also harm employee trust and morale.

The good news is that conforming to Australia’s workplace rules doesn’t have to be complicated. Here, we outline these basic steps, empowering your business to maintain a fair, lawful, and productive workplace environment.

1. First things first: understand the relevant legislation

The first step to compliance is understanding the Australian employment laws that apply to your business. These may include:

• Fair Work Act 2009: governs employment conditions in Australia, including minimum wages, unfair dismissal protections, and workplace rights.
• Anti-discrimination laws: address issues related to workplace discrimination based on gender, age, race, disability, etc.
• Work Health and Safety (WHS) legislation: mandates a duty of care for providing a safe work environment.
• Modern awards and enterprise agreements: outline the minimum employment standards for different industries, occupations or sectors.

2. Establish clear employment contracts

Did you know that businesses aren’t legally required to issue employment contracts to employees? While this is true, they’re strongly recommended. All businesses should have a written employment contract that outlines the rights, responsibilities, and conditions of employment. Key features of this agreement should include:

• Job title and description: detailing clear expectations about the role and tasks.
• Wages and benefits: to ensure compliance with minimum wage laws or industry-specific awards or enterprise agreements.
• Leave entitlements: specify the types of leave employees are entitled to, such as annual leave, personal leave, parental leave, etc.
• Termination conditions: clearly outline procedures for resignation or dismissal, including notice periods and any severance pay entitlements.
• Confidentiality and post-employment restraints: explain processes to protect the business before, during, and post-employment.

By having written contracts in place, businesses reduce their risk of misunderstandings and disputes. It creates a base for the employment relationship and can be easily referred to in many employment-related matters such as performance management, disciplinary procedures, and termination.

To make this part of the recruitment and onboarding process simpler for business, our HR software houses an extensive library of legal IP, including water-tight HR compliance checklists and creating and issuing tailored employment contracts that ensure every agreement is compliant.

3. Implement fair workplace policies

Policies are an essential part of maintaining workplace compliance. They help define the standards of behaviour expected in your organisation and ensure consistency in handling various workplace issues. Good policies will establish a clear understanding of expectations and standards while also protecting the rights of employers. Key policies all employers should implement in their business and include:

• anti-bullying and harassment policies;
• equal opportunity and diversity policies;
• workplace health and safety procedures;
• disciplinary procedures; and
• leave policies.

Whilst having these key workplace policies in place is crucial, it’s just as important to ensure they’re regularly updated to reflect changes in legislation and industry standards.

HR policies are a simple way to ensure your business is well-equipped to handle several common workplace issues. Our HR software allows you to download any essential HR policies your business may need and much more. Better yet, Citation HR’s workplace relations specialists will draft tailored HR policies to suit your unique business needs.

4. Ensure Australian payroll compliance

Accurate and timely payroll is essential to avoid legal and financial consequences. Businesses must ensure they adhere to:

• Minimum wage and pay rates: review award rates or enterprise agreements to ensure all employees are paid correctly.
• Superannuation contributions: make timely contributions to employees’ superannuation accounts.
• Taxation and reporting: deduct and remit the appropriate income tax, as well as meet other reporting obligations.

Intentional wage and superannuation theft is now a federal criminal offence and was enacted into law on 1 January 2025. An employer will commit wage theft in circumstances where they intentionally engage in conduct that fails to pay an employee their minimum statutory entitlements arising from the FW Act or an industrial instrument such as modern awards or enterprise agreements. So, it’s more important than ever for businesses to invest in reliable payroll software and work with a professional to ensure their payroll is accurate and compliant with Australian workplace law.

5. Train and educate employees

Compliance isn’t just the responsibility of management. Employees should be educated about their rights and responsibilities in the workplace. Businesses should conduct regular training on workplace safety, anti-discrimination and harassment, and their code of conduct. Training should be ongoing and tailored to the specific needs of your business to create a compliant and respectful .

Our Compliance Training Centre is an online training tool within Citation HR Software, offering expertly curated courses for employees, managers, and WHS officers to meet their unique learning needs. Designed to boost engagement and safeguard businesses, it provides tailored, effective learning solutions for every level of an organisation.

6. Keep accurate records

Maintaining accurate records is essential for compliance with various laws, particularly when it comes to wages, hours worked, leave entitlements, and other employment matters. Previously, if an employee made an underpayment claim, employers may have been able to utilise what the FWO called ‘a loophole’. This loophole allowed employers to avoid facing fines by the FWO if the claim couldn’t be substantiated due to a lack of evidence confirming if the underpayment occurred or not because of the employer not adhering to their record-keeping obligations. The employee would need to prove that they had been underpaid if there were insufficient records, which made underpayments harder to prove.

However, with the introduction of the Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Vulnerable Workers) Act 2017, the onus has been flipped. Employers are required to provide sufficient evidence to disprove the underpayment claim rather than the employee proving the underpayment claim. Should employers fail to keep adequate employee records and disprove the claim, the underpayment claim will be accepted nonetheless. This is a much higher burden than before, and up-to-date records need to be kept, protecting your business from the obligations being reversed. Key employment records that are required to be kept include:

• general employment records;
• pay records;
• hours of work records;
• superannuation contribution records;
• individual flexibility agreement records;
• leave records; and
• termination records.

Complying with the Fair Work Act (Cth) 2009 doesn’t require a complex, all-encompassing strategy. By taking these simple steps, businesses can significantly reduce their risk and create a positive, work environment.

How can Citation HR help?

Of course, every business is different, and how you manage your compliance will be unique to your business. That’s where Citation HR can help – if you need tailored assistance, we’re here to support you so you can focus on doing what you do best: running your business.

Not a Citation HR client and need some advice? Citation HR’s industry-leading workplace compliance solutions can support your business with everything people management from our award-winning HR Software, round-the-clock HR Advice Line, and comprehensive HR Compliance Audit to a library of regularly updated HR Resources, our Advice Promise, and additional HR support with HR on Demand.

Interested in learning more about Citation HR? Why not try our advice? Arrange a complimentary workplace compliance consultation today, and we’ll help you identify any risks before they become problems. Get in touch with our friendly team for a confidential, no-obligation chat here.

About our author

Amelia Attard is a Workplace Relations Consultant at Citation HR. She assists clients with a range of employment relations and compliance matters via the 24/7 HR Advice Line. She is currently studying for a Bachelor of Laws and Social Science.