Employee relations for Australian SMEs Bring HR in before the decision becomes difficult to unwind. An Australian SME should consider bringing in HR when an employee issue moves beyond a normal manager conversation and starts involving performance, misconduct, complaints, warnings, investigations, workplace rights, redundancy or possible termination. The most useful time to get employee relations…
Updated 14 September 2026 From 1 October 2026, the Health Professionals and Support Services Award 2020 changes how covered health professionals are classified and paid. Physiotherapy clinic owners should now confirm each employee’s qualification, profession-wide experience and actual duties, then apply the correct minimum rate from the first full pay period starting on or after…
HR support for accountants and their SME clients Your client may already be telling you they need HR help You are reviewing the numbers when a business owner says, “I’m spending too much time dealing with staff”, “payroll keeps increasing”, or “I need to get rid of someone”. It sounds like a passing comment, but…
Australian SME HR Knowledge Centre Recruitment Checklist for Australian SMEs A recruitment checklist helps Australian small and medium businesses hire the right person while meeting their legal obligations from the start. Before advertising a role, an employer should confirm the role duties, employment type, award or enterprise agreement coverage, minimum pay, lawful selection criteria, right-to-work…
Most SME onboarding is still treated as a first-day admin task: forms, laptop, passwords, quick walkaround and “ask if you need anything”. That is induction, not onboarding. Effective onboarding should carry a new employee through their first 90 days with clear expectations, regular manager check-ins, role clarity, safety training and early connection to how the…
From 1 October 2026, the Fair Work Commission is replacing the old pay-point system in the Health Professionals and Support Services Award (MA000027) with a new classification structure based on each employee’s qualification level (AQF) and years of profession-wide experience. For physiotherapy clinics, this means every physio on your books – graduate through to senior…
Short answer: Yes — but “probation” is not a legal shield. In Australia, an employee on probation can be dismissed, but they are still entitled to notice (or payment in lieu), any outstanding entitlements, and protection from dismissal for an unlawful reason. Whether they can also bring an unfair dismissal claim depends on how long…
Short answer: The Modern Award that applies to your employee depends on two things — the industry your business operates in, and the specific job your employee does. You work this out by checking the “coverage clause” (usually clause 4) of the award that matches your industry, then confirming the employee’s duties fit one of…
An employment contract is the written or verbal agreement that sets out the terms of the working relationship between an employer and an employee. In Australia, a written contract is not legally required for most permanent employees — but every contract, written or not, is automatically overridden by the Fair Work Act 2009, the National…
An HR consultant is an independent workplace relations specialist who helps a business manage the employment side of running a company — hiring, contracts, pay compliance, performance management, workplace investigations, policies, and terminations — without the business needing to employ a full-time, in-house HR manager. For an Australian small or medium business, an HR consultant…
