Sole traders, partnerships & others moving into the national system
From 1 January 2010, sole traders, partnerships, other unincorporated entities and non-trading corporations in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania join the above types of employers in the national system, rather than their own specific state system.
There are special transitional rules for these employers and employees to help them move into the national system including:
- State awards that covered these employers and employees before 1 January 2010 continue to apply They automatically terminate at the end of 31 December 2010 (except for State enterprise awards). These employers and employees are then covered by a relevant modern award.
- State employment agreements made in the State system that cover these employers and employees continue to operate until terminated or replaced.
However, state awards and state employment agreements operate alongside the National Employment Standards (NES). This means that employees must receive at least the minimum entitlements in the NES (to the extent that they apply), along with any other entitlements in their state award or employment agreement (provided that they are at least as beneficial as the corresponding NES entitlement(s)).
The Western Australian government has chosen not to join the national system, so sole traders, partnerships, other unincorporated entities and non-trading corporations in Western Australia remain in their state system. Some of these employers in Western Australia may be covered by transitional awards if they were covered by a Federal award as at 26 March 2006.These transitional awards continue to apply until 27 March 2011.
Who isn’t covered by the national system?
The following are generally NOT covered by the national system:
- Most state government public sector employers and most local government employers
- Western Australian corporations whose main activity is not trading or financial
- Western Australian sole traders, partnerships, or other unincorporated entities
This information comes courtesy of Fair Work Online which is the government resource for the Fair Work Australia Policy.