Australia

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2022 Score

77

Score Increase

2020 Score

72

Rating

Reasonable Access to
Decent Work

Fair
Wages

80

Decent
Working Hours

80

Employment
Security

20

Family
Responsibilities

75

Maternity
at Work

100

Safe
Work

100

Social
Security

40

Fair
Treatment

100

Child &
Forced Labour

100

Trade
Union

75

1. Fair Wages
2. Decent Working Hours
3. Employment Security
4. Family Responsibilities
5. Maternity at Work
6. Safe Work
7. Social Security
8. Fair Treatment
9. Child & Forced Labour
10. Trade Union

Fair Wages

QuestionAnswerScoreLegal Basis
Does the law prescribe minimum wage rates in the country?Yes1§284-287, 294-295 & 539 (Item 8) of the Fair Work Act 2009
Does the law require regular payment of wages?Yes1§323-324 of the Fair Work Act 2009; §117-119 of the NSW Industrial Relations Act 1996 No. 17
Does the law require overtime compensation be at least 125% of the regular hourly rate?Yes1§62 of the Fair Work Act 2009; §24 of the Health Professionals and Support Services Award 2020
Does the law require additional compensation for working on a weekly rest day?No0No applicable legal provisions could be located
Does the law require additional compensation for night work?Yes1§25.3 of the Health Professionals and Support Services Award 2020

Decent Working Hours

QuestionAnswerScoreLegal Basis
Does the law stipulate general working hours as 48 hours or lower?Yes1§62-64, Fair Work Act 2009; §22 of the NSW Industrial Relations Act 1996 No. 17
Does the law restrict maximum working hours including overtime to 56 hours per week?No0§62-64 of the Fair Work Act 2009; §10, 11 & 13 of the Health Professionals and Support Services Award 2020
Does the law require a weekly rest of at least 24 hours?Yes1§13.2 (a) of the Health Professionals and Support Services Award 2020
Does the law require paid public holidays?Yes1§4 & 5 of the Public Holidays Act 2010 No. 115
Does the law require at least three working weeks of paid annual leave?Yes1§3 (1-8) of the Annual Holidays Act 1944 No. 31

Employment Security

QuestionAnswerScoreLegal Basis
Does the law require written employment contracts or at least written employment particulars?No0No applicable legal provisions could be located
Does the law restrict the hiring of fixed-term contract workers?No0No applicable legal provisions could be located
Does the law limit the length of probation period including renewals to a maximum of 3 months?No0§382 & 383 of the Fair Work Act 2009
Does the law require a 30-day notice before contract termination?No0§2-4 of the NSW Industrial Relations Act 1996 No. 17; §117 & 123 of the Fair Work Act 2009
Does the law require severance pay at the rate of at least 2 weeks of wages for every year of service?Yes1§119 & 121 (1) (2) of the Fair Work Act 2009; §37.2 (b) of the Health Professionals and Support Services Award 2020

Family Responsibilities

QuestionAnswerScoreLegal Basis
Does the law require parental leave for parents?Yes1§53, 54, 57, 61 & 63, NSW Industrial Relations Act 1996 No. 17; §70, 71 & 79, Fair Work Act 2009
Does the law require at least one week of paid paternity leave for fathers?Yes1§10, Paid Parental Leave and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2012; §55 & 58, NSW Industrial Relations Act 1996 No. 17
Does the law require flexible work arrangements for workers with family responsibilities?Yes1§1 (1A) (1B) & 3-5 of the Fair Work Act 2009; §76 of the NSW Industrial Relations Act 1996 No. 17
Does the law require paid nursing breaks?No0§7AA & 7D (1e) of the Sex Discrimination Act 1984

Maternity at Work

QuestionAnswerScoreLegal Basis
Does the law prohibits inquiring about pregnancy during recruitment?Yes1§7 & 14 of the Sex Discrimination Act 1984
Does the law require paid maternity leave of at least 14 weeks?Yes1§11, Paid Parental Leave Act 2010; §80, Fair Work Act 2009; §71 & 72, NSW Industrial Relations Act 1996 No. 17
Does the law require cash maternity benefit be at least 67% of a worker's former wage?Yes1§8(1C) & §93WC of Social Security Act, No. 46 of 1991; §52-61 of Paid Parental Leave Act 2010
Does the law require maternity benefit be paid through contributory social insurance or universal benefits system?Yes1§8(1C) & §93WC of Social Security Act, No. 46 of 1991; §52-61 of Paid Parental Leave Act 2010
Does the law protect workers from dismissals during or on account of pregnancy?Yes1§7, Sex Discrimination Act 1984; §84, 342 & 351, Fair Work Act 2009; §66 & 68, NSW IRA 1996

Safe Work

QuestionAnswerScoreLegal Basis
Does the law require provision of free personal protective equipment to workers from employer?Yes1§44 & 46, NSW Work Health and Safety Regulation 2017; §4, Work Health and Safety Act 2011
Does the law require the employer to train workers on health and safety issues?Yes1§39 of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2017
Does the law restrict work that is prejudicial to the health of the mother or the child?Yes1§66, 68 & 70 of the NSW Industrial Relations Act 1996 No. 17
Does the law provide for employment injury benefit?Yes1§9 (2), 9A, 25 (1), 26, 33, 34, 36, 37 & 39 of the Workers Compensation Act 1987 No. 70

Social Security

QuestionAnswerScoreLegal Basis
Does the law provide for an old age pension?Yes1§23 (5A-5D), 43 & 308 of the Social Security Act, No. 46 of 1991
Does the law provide for a dependants'/survivors' pension?No0§82-91, 146F-146Q & 308 of Social Security Act, No. 46 of 1991
Does the law provide for unemployment benefit?No0§308 & 593-660M of Social Security Act, No. 46 of 1991
Does the law require paid sick leave for the first 6 months of sickness?No0§96-99 of the Fair Work Act 2009; §26 of the NSW Industrial Relations Act, 1996 No. 17
Does the law provide for invalidity benefit?Yes1§27, 94-120 & 308 of Social Security Act, No. 46 of 1991

Fair Treatment

QuestionAnswerScoreLegal Basis
Does the law require equal remuneration for work of equal value?Yes1§300-306 of the Fair Work Act 2009
Does the law prohibit sexual harassment in employment?Yes1§28B of Sex Discrimination Act, 1984; Sex Discrimination and Fair Work (Respect at Work) Amendment Act, 2021
Does the law prohibit discrimination in employment matters?Yes1§14 of Sex Discrimination Act 1984
Does the law allow women to do the same jobs as men?Yes1No restrictive legal provisions could be located
Does the law guarantee basic labour protections for gig economy workers?Yes1Social Security Act, No. 46 of 1991; ISSA Country Profile for Australia

Child & Forced Labour

QuestionAnswerScoreLegal Basis
Does the law prohibit employment of children?Yes1Youth Law Australia (https://yla.org.au/nsw/topics/employment/when-can-i-start-working/)
Does the law set employment entry age equal to or higher than the compulsory schooling age?Yes1Section 21B of the NSW Education Act, 1990
Does the law prohibit the employment of children in hazardous work under the age of 18 years?Yes1Regulation 89 of the NSW Work Health and Safety Regulation, 2017
Does the law prohibit forced labour?Yes1§270 & 271 of the Criminal Code Act 1995; Modern Slavery Act, 2018

Trade Union

QuestionAnswerScoreLegal Basis
Does the law allow workers to form and join unions of their own choice?Yes1§303-304 of the Industrial Relations Act 1996 No 17; Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009
Does the law allow workers to bargain collectively with employers through their representative unions?Yes1§28-47 of the Industrial Relations Act 1996 No 17
Does the law provide for the right to strike?No0§423-427 of the Fairwork Act 2009; CEACR C87 Obs. 2020
Does the law prohibit employers from terminating employment contracts of striking workers?Yes1§416A of the Fairwork Act 2009; §143 of the Industrial Relations Act 1996 No 17