Employment Compliance Check for Australian Employers

What changed in 2024–2026

Australian employment law has undergone its most significant overhaul in a generation. Three reforms in particular have fundamentally changed employer obligations:

1. Wage theft is now criminal (January 2025)

The Closing Loopholes Act made intentional underpayment of wages a criminal offence. Employers face up to 10 years imprisonment and fines of up to $7.8 million (body corporate). Even unintentional underpayment carries significantly increased civil penalties. Read our full wage theft guide →

2. Employee choice casual conversion (August 2024)

The old employer-offer model is gone. Casual employees can now elect to convert to permanent employment after 6 months (12 for small business). If you don't respond within 21 days, conversion happens automatically. Read our casual conversion guide →

3. Right to Disconnect — all businesses (August 2025)

Employees can refuse unreasonable out-of-hours contact. Initially applied to businesses with 15+ staff, it was extended to all businesses from 26 August 2025. Read our Right to Disconnect guide →

Coming next: Payday Super (1 July 2026)

From 1 July 2026, superannuation must be paid on or before payday — not quarterly. This affects every employer in Australia. Read our Payday Super guide →

The 6 compliance areas most employers miss

Based on Fair Work Ombudsman enforcement data and our analysis, these are the areas where Australian small businesses most commonly fall short:

1. Award classification — applying the wrong Modern Award or the wrong classification level within an Award, leading to systemic underpayment
2. Psychosocial hazards — not identifying or managing psychosocial risks, despite new WHS regulation requiring it. Learn more →
3. Sexual harassment prevention — no proactive prevention plan despite the positive duty in force since December 2023. Learn more →
4. Casual conversion notices — not providing the Casual Employment Information Statement at the required intervals
5. Record keeping — not maintaining employment records for the required 7 years, triggering the reverse onus of proof
6. Contractor misclassification — engaging workers as contractors who are actually employees under the new "real substance and practical reality" test

What WorkRight's health check covers

Our free compliance health check asks 20 targeted questions across 6 sections:

Each question is mapped to specific Australian legislation. Your instant gap report shows exactly where you're compliant, where you're at risk, and what the law requires — with section references you can verify.