State awards bind all employers and employees. State awards apply in relation to occupational health and safety matters. However, state awards are generally superseded by federal awards and agreements. Also, since the passing of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), state awards can no longer apply to national system employers including Commonwealth authorities, those connected with Constitutional trade or commerce, and body corporate incorporated in Australian Territories. Now, state awards are mainly only binding upon a minority of employers including sole traders and partnerships.
The role of federal awards is diminishing and the rationale for this is the award modernisation process. All existing federal awards will be replaced by a more streamlined and reduced set of modern awards.
At Prime Lawyers we have acted for many satisfied employers and employees in recent times. Our employment lawyers keep up-to-date with this rapidly changing area of law. If you have any queries about employment agreements, feel free to contact us on (02) 9521 2222 to speak to one of our experienced employment lawyers. You can also send your enquiry online now and we will contact you shortly.