Workplace & employment
Fair Work obligations including modern award compliance, criminal wage theft, Payday Super, right to disconnect, psychosocial hazards, and the positive duty under the Sex Discrimination Act.
7
Obligations
3
Regulators
9
Recent enforcement
Regulators
Obligations (7)
- criticalCWLTHcurrentPay employees in accordance with the applicable modern award
Apply the correct modern award rates, penalties, allowances, and overtime — wage theft is now criminal.
- criticalCWLTHcurrentManage psychosocial hazards at work
WHS duty extends to psychosocial hazards — workload, bullying, harassment, role conflict.
- criticalCWLTHcurrentTake reasonable and proportionate measures to prevent sex discrimination, sexual harassment and victimisation (positive duty)
Employers have a proactive duty to prevent workplace sexual harassment — AHRC has enforcement powers from December 2023.
- criticalCWLTHcurrentPay superannuation on every payday (Payday Super)
From 1 July 2026, super must reach the employee's fund within 7 business days of each payday.
- highCWLTHcurrentPsychosocial Hazards Code of Practice (model + jurisdictional)
PCBUs must manage psychosocial risk under WHS Acts + state codes.
- highCWLTHcurrentHonour employees' right to disconnect (s 333M)
Employees can refuse to monitor, read, or respond to out-of-hours contact unless refusal is unreasonable.
- highCWLTHcurrentReport under Single Touch Payroll Phase 2
Disaggregated payroll reporting to the ATO via STP-enabled software.
Recent enforcement
- comcarecriminal conviction$188K2025Department of Defence: Comcare prosecution
Defence failed to train supervisors on psychosocial risks of its Work Plan performance-management process; a RAAF technician placed on repeated Work Plans died at RAAF Base Williamtown in 2020. First conviction of a Commonwealth employer for failing to manage psychosocial risks. Category 3 offence.
- atoenforcement focus2025ATO STP Phase 2 enforcement (post-transition)
ATO transition + enforcement focus on STP Phase 2 — payroll detail richer + integrated with Services Australia data sharing.
- fwcstop order2025FWC right-to-disconnect stop orders 2024-2025
Multiple FWC stop orders issued under s 333M of the Fair Work Act since August 2024 commencement.
- safework-nswenforcement focus2025Safe Work Australia psychosocial uplift across jurisdictions
Each state WHS regulator continued psychosocial hazards enforcement focus through 2024-2025 — SafeWork NSW, WorkSafe Vic + Qld particularly active.
- fwcstop order2025FWC right-to-disconnect interpretation: Boatswain v Lance Industries (illustrative)
Early-application case before the FWC on whether out-of-hours contact during a specific period was 'unreasonable' under s 333M, considering nature of contact, role responsibilities, and compensation.
- fworegulatory implementation2025Wage theft criminal offence (s 327A FWA from 1 Jan 2025)
Closing Loopholes No. 2 Act 2024 introduced criminal offence of intentional wage theft from 1 January 2025 — Up to 10 years imprisonment + significant fines.
- fwcstop order2024FWC anti-bullying + sexual harassment stop orders 2024
FWC issued multiple stop orders during 2024 across bullying + sexual harassment jurisdiction.
- ahrcenforcement focus2024Positive Duty enforcement (Sex Discrimination Act)
AHRC began enforcement of Positive Duty (s 47C SDA) from 12 December 2023. 2024-2025 enforcement focus on compliance audits + investigations.
- atoadministrative2024ATO superannuation guarantee enforcement — major employers
ATO recovered over $1B in SGC and admin uplift across 2023-24 from large employers identified via STP data-matching.