Employment Contract Template Australia | Awelle
Reviewed by Lisa M ·
An employment contract is the document you rely on when the relationship ends badly — it fixes hours, duties, pay, notice and what happens to your confidential…
Employment · Australia
An employment contract is the document you rely on when the relationship ends badly — it fixes hours, duties, pay, notice and what happens to your confidential information. Drafted for Australian employers engaging full-time, part-time or fixed-term staff.
What this document does
Three jobs at once
A written employment contract records what both sides agreed, sets the terms a court looks at first if the relationship ends in dispute, and protects the things that outlast the employment — confidential information, intellectual property and client relationships.
Use this document where the work is regular and there is a firm advance commitment to ongoing hours. Where there is not, a casual employment contract is the right instrument instead.
What’s included
Clauses in this template
- Position, reporting line and award classification
- Remuneration, and a set-off clause drafted to actually operate
- Ordinary hours, and how additional hours are treated
- Probation, notice and termination
- Confidentiality and intellectual property assignment
- Post-employment restraint, scoped to be enforceable
The law that applies
Fair Work Act, awards and the NES
The National Employment Standards are a floor. A contract cannot go below them, and any term that tries is unenforceable to that extent.
Modern award coverage is the single most common thing Australian employers get wrong. The award, and the classification within it, set minimum rates, allowances and penalties the contract must meet or beat. A set-off clause only works if it identifies what it is setting off against.
Every new employee must be given the Fair Work Information Statement before starting, or as soon as practicable afterwards.
What goes wrong
Pitfalls we see in practice
No award classification named
The set-off clause is the workhorse of an Australian employment contract — it lets a salary absorb award entitlements such as overtime, penalties and allowances. It only works if the contract identifies the applicable award and the classification it is setting off against. Without that, the employer has a salary on one side and an unsatisfied set of award obligations on the other, and the arithmetic runs against them for the whole period of employment.
A restraint drafted so wide a court reads it down to nothing
Restraints are enforceable only so far as they protect a legitimate business interest. A twelve-month, Australia-wide restraint on a junior employee protects nothing identifiable, and a court asked to enforce it will not rewrite it into something reasonable — outside New South Wales, where legislation permits reading down, the clause simply fails. A narrow restraint that holds is worth more than a broad one that decorates the contract.
Labelling someone casual when the substance is not
Since August 2024 the test looks at the real substance of the relationship rather than its description. A contract calling someone casual, paying loading, and rostering them to the same fixed shifts every week for two years describes a permanent employee. The exposure is backpay for leave entitlements, and casual loading offsets only part of it.
Relying on the original contract after the role has changed
Duties expand, titles change, and the contract signed for a different job gradually stops describing the relationship. Where the change is significant enough, the original terms — including the restraint and the confidentiality provisions — may not carry across to the new role. A one-page written variation at the point of change costs nothing and preserves the protections that matter.
Questions
Frequently asked
Does an employment contract have to be in writing in Australia?
No. An employment relationship exists without a written contract, and the National Employment Standards and any applicable modern award apply either way. What you lose without one is everything the law does not imply — confidentiality, intellectual property assignment, notice beyond the statutory minimum, and any restraint.
Can a contract override a modern award?
No. Where a contract term is less favourable than the award, the award prevails to that extent. A contract can improve on the award, and a properly drafted set-off clause can absorb award entitlements into a higher salary — but only if it is clear about what is being set off.
What happens to the contract when the employee’s role changes?
A significant change in duties can, over time, mean the original contract no longer describes the relationship. The safer practice is a short written variation at the point of change, rather than relying on the original document to stretch.
Related
Documents that usually go with this one
- casual employment contract template
- independent contractor agreement
- non-disclosure agreement template
More for HR professionals: HR professionals at Awelle
Check the official guidance
These resources provide general information. Check the current rules and seek qualified advice for your circumstances.