What is an award?

An award is a legal document which sets out the rights and obligations of employers and employees engaged in particular types of work. There are many different types of awards covering different industries and occupations.

Awards cover conditions of employment including:

• hours of work
• pay rates, penalty rates, overtime and other loadings, such as annual leave loading
• allowances, for example, tools or uniform allowances
• leave entitlements
• employment protection provisions, for example, redundancy payments
• part-time or casual work.

How are NSW awards made?

The NSW Industrial Relations Commission makes NSW awards upon application by an employer organisation or employee organisation (union) to create a new or revised award for a particular industry. Awards can also be made to settle industrial disputes.

Award pay rates often increase after each State Wage Case following an application to the Commission by parties to the award. The Commission also updates and reviews awards every three years.

Which awards cover employees at my workplace?

Employers may be bound by a NSW award or a federal award. Sometimes, both federal and NSW awards can cover employees in different occupations, even at the same workplace.

Employers should contact the Fair Work Infoline on 13 13 94 to find out if they are bound by a federal award, including a NAPSA (Notional Agreement Preserving a State Award).

NSW awards cover all employers and employees in the industry or occupation to which it relates, whether or not they were involved in creating the award. Information about the type of work covered by a NSW award is contained in the Area, Incidence and Duration clause of the award.

Employers can contact the NSW Office of Industrial Relations to find out what NSW awards apply to employees in their workplace.

Where an employer is not bound by any award, the employees may be award-free.

What happens if employees are award-free?

If there is no award covering the employees, the employer and individual employee can mutually agree to the terms and conditions of the contract of employment.

Employers are still required to provide to award-free employees any minimum terms and conditions according to NSW or federal employment laws.

For employers in the NSW industrial relations system, award-free employees are entitled to a minimum wage known as the Award Review Classification Rate, as well as annual holidays, long service leave and parental leave.

Employers in the federal system should contact the Fair Work Infoline on 13 13 94 to find out what minimum terms and conditions apply to award-free employees.

Do awards have to be displayed at the workplace?

The NSW Industrial Relations Act 1996 requires an employer to display a current copy of all relevant awards in the workplace. An electronic version is acceptable as long as it is accessible to all employees.

Copies of NSW private sector awards can be freely downloaded from the Awards Online section of the OIR website, or purchased from the Information Services Team at the OIR.