Skip to main content

Ribbon

  • About us
  • Contact us
  • Glossary
  • News & media
Fair Work Commission logo

Fair Work Commission

Australia's national workplace relations tribunal
Search is closed
Menu is closed

Search

Main menu

  • Awards & agreements
    • Minimum wages & conditions
    • Awards
    • Agreements
    • Legislation & regulations for awards & agreements
  • Cases, decisions & orders
    • Major cases
    • Summaries of significant decisions
    • Decisions by keywords
    • FWC Bulletin
    • Archived decisions & orders
    • Transcripts
    • Court reviews
    • Historical cases
  • Registered organisations
    • Fact sheets, templates & webinars
    • Find registered organisations
    • Find State-recognised associations
    • Registration
    • Running a registered organisation
    • Entry permits
    • Industrial action
    • Gazette notices
    • Lodgment
  • Resources
    • Online lodgment
    • Forms
    • Where to get legal help
    • Research
    • Workplace Relations Education Series
    • Benchbooks
    • Fact sheets, guides & videos
    • Practice notes
    • Resources in other languages
    • Case studies
    • Quarterly practitioner updates
    • Related sites
  • Termination of employment
    • Unfair dismissal
    • General protections dismissal
    • Unlawful termination
    • How the Commission works
  • Disputes at work
    • Fairness in the workplace
    • Resolving issues at the Commission
    • Cooperative Workplaces program
    • JobKeeper disputes
    • General protections (unlawful actions)
    • Anti-bullying
    • Industrial action
    • Awards & enterprise agreements disputes
    • Disputes about entry
    • How the Commission works
  • Home
  • About us
  • National workplace relations system
Back to top

Coverage

Print this page

 

Table of contents

On this page

  • Introduction
  • National system coverage
  • Other coverage
  • What is a constitutional corporation?
  • What is a non-constitutional corporation?

 

Introduction

Australia’s national workplace relations system covers the majority of Australian workplaces, but some are covered by state workplace relations systems. 

National system coverage

You are covered by the national workplace relations system if you:

  • work for a constitutional corporation
  • work in Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory or the Northern Territory (except if you are a law enforcement officer or an executive in the public sector in Victoria, or a member of the Police Force in the Northern Territory)
  • work in the private sector in New South Wales, Queensland or South Australia
  • work in the private sector or local government sector in Tasmania.

Other coverage

You are not covered by the national workplace relations system if you:

  • work in the state public sector or for a non-constitutional corporation in either local government or private industry in Western Australia
  • work in the state public sector or local government in New South Wales, Queensland or South Australia
  • work in the state public sector in Tasmania.

Go to the Unfair dismissals benchbook to find out more about people excluded from national unfair dismissal laws.

If you are not covered by the national system you are covered by the applicable state industrial relations system.

What is a constitutional corporation?

A constitutional corporation is:

  • a financial corporation formed in Australia
  • a trading corporation formed in Australia, or
  • a foreign corporation (a corporation incorporated outside Australia) that does business in Australia.

This term is defined in section 12 of the Fair Work Act 2009  and paragraph 51(xx) of the Commonwealth Constitution.

What is a non-constitutional corporation?

Non-constitutional corporations include:

  • sole traders
  • partnerships
  • trusts
  • certain state government public sector employers, and
  • corporations whose main activity is not trading or financial.

Updated time

Last updated

06 January 2017

 

Bookmark/Search this post

Facebook logo Google+ logo Twitter logo

Page feedback

Did you find what you were looking for?

Please note: If you would like a response to your question, please contact us or lodge a complaint. This feedback is only about content on this page and will be used to improve website usability. The comments are not monitored for personal information or workplace complaints. 

Ribbon

  • About us
    • COVID-19 information
      • COVID-19 & awards
      • COVID-19 & enterprise agreements
      • COVIDSafe app & workplace rights
      • COVID-19 updates
    • JobKeeper scheme
      • JobKeeper disputes
      • JobKeeper directions & agreements – qualifying employers
      • JobKeeper directions & agreements – legacy employers
      • JobKeeper workplace rights & general protections
      • JobKeeper help
    • National workplace relations system
      • Coverage
      • National employment standards
      • The Commission & the Fair Work Ombudsman
    • Contact us
      • Commission offices
      • Complaints & feedback
      • Accessibility
    • Events
      • International perspectives on dispute resolution conference
      • Asia & Pacific regional conference & training course
    • Consultation
      • Client experience feedback & research
    • Members & case allocations
      • List of Commission Members
      • Case allocation system
        • BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) Projects
        • Barangaroo South Development Project
        • Chevron Gorgon Gas Project
        • Cross River Rail Project
        • INPEX Timor Sea Oil & Gas Project
        • Wheatstone Gas Project
      • List of industries
    • Operations
      • Service charter
      • Statement of commitment to Indigenous Australians
      • What's Next
      • Future Directions
        • Productivity & engaging with industry
        • Future Directions pilots
          • Agreements triage pilot
          • General protections assistance for self-represented parties pilot
          • General protections conciliators pilot
          • Permission to appeal pilot
          • Unfair dismissal cooling-off pilot
          • Unfair dismissal pro bono pilot program
      • Budgets & expenditure
        • Audit Committee
      • Tenders & contracts
      • Grants
      • Agency file listing
      • Commission engagement activities
        • International engagement
        • Stakeholder user groups
    • Executive
    • History
    • Legislation & regulations
      • Small Business Fair Dismissal Code
    • Reports & publications
      • Annual reports
      • Quarterly reports
      • General Manager's reports
        • Reports
        • Research
      • Subscribe to updates
    • Careers
      • How to apply for a job at the Commission
    • Legal
      • Copyright
      • Disclaimer
      • Privacy
        • Privacy policy
        • Privacy Impact Assessment Register
      • Freedom of information
        • Privacy notice – Freedom of information & privacy
        • FOI disclosure log
      • Information publication scheme
      • Information publication plan
      • Public interest disclosure scheme
  • Contact us
    • Commission offices
    • Complaints & feedback
      • Complaints about lawyers & paid agents
      • Procedure for dealing with complaints about Members
    • Accessibility
  • Glossary
  • News & media
    • Latest news
    • Media releases
    • Speeches
    • News archive

Links

Related links

  • National workplace relations system

Related sites

  • Industrial Relations Commission of New South Wales
  • Industrial Relations Commission of South Australia
  • Queensland Industrial Relations Commission
  • Tasmanian Industrial Commission
  • Western Australian Industrial Relations Commission

Footer

  • Site map
  • Legal
  • Copyright
  • Accessibility

Coronavirus (COVID-19) information