Information statement requirements under the Fair Work Act

Information statement requirements under the Fair Work Act

The Fair Work Act 2009 (FW Act) requires employers to provide information statements to certain employees. There are three types of information statements:

1. Fair Work Information Statement, which must be provided to all new employees.
2. Casual Employment Information Statement, which must be provided to all casual employees at the start of employment and then at regular intervals during employment.
3. A Fixed Term Contract Information Statement, which must be provided to employees employed on a fixed term contract.

Each information statement is published by the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO), and available to download from the FWO website.

Some employees will need to be given more than one statement. For example, a new casual employee must be given the Fair Work Information Statement and the Casual Employment Information Statement.

Fair Work Information Statement

The Fair Work Information Statement provides information to employees on:

• the National Employment Standards (NES),
• modern awards,
• enterprise agreement making under the FW Act,
• the right to freedom of association (i.e. the right to join or not join a union),
• the role of the Fair Work Commission and the FWO,
• termination of employment,
• individual flexibility arrangements, and
• union right of entry.

An employer must provide the Fair Work Information Statement before, or as soon as practicable after, an employee starts employment.

Casual Employment Information Statement

The Casual Employment Information Statement contains information about:

• the meaning of “casual employee” as defined by the FW Act,
• conversion from casual employment to full-time or part-time employment under the NES, and
• the role of the Fair Work Commission in dealing with disputes about casual conversion.

From 26 August 2024, employers are required to provide the Casual Employment Information Statement to casual employees as follows:

Fixed Term Contract Information Statement

The Fixed Term Contract Information Statement contains information about:

• the definition of fixed term contracts,
• limitations on using fixed term contracts, and
• exceptions to the fixed term contract limitations.

Employers are required to provide a Fixed Term Contract Information Statement to all employees entering a fixed term contract (e.g. a contract for a specified number of months; or a contract with a specified end date).

The Fixed Term Contract Information Statement must be provided to all employees entering into a fixed term contract, even if an exception to the limitations on fixed term contracts applies.

How should the Statements be given to employees?

There are many ways that an employer can provide the statements. These include:

• giving the employee a hard copy of the statement,
• posting the statement to the employee’s home address or another address nominated by the employee,
• emailing the statement to the employee’s work email address, or another email address nominated by the employee,
• emailing the employee an electronic link to the statement from the FWO’s website,
• emailing the employee an electronic link to a copy of the statement on the employer’s intranet.

Key take aways

• Employers should ensure that their onboarding procedure for new employees includes providing the relevant information statement(s).
• For the Casual Employment Information Statement, employers’ payroll or HR information systems should be set up to alert the employer when a casual employee is approaching the six- and 12-month marks in the first year of employment and each 12-month anniversary (as applicable, depending on whether the employer is a small business employer) so that the statement can be provided within the required timeframes.

Further assistance

HABA members can call the HABA Workplace Advice Line for advice on this topic or any other workplace relations matter. Our number is 02 9221 9911.