Resources to support employers with the decisions that are the most challenging when engaging and managing employees. Search the library, filter by topic, and read, watch or download.
The key trends and takeaways from the Fair Work Ombudsman's activities in the sector. Care-sector employers have signed 31 of the 96 enforceable undertakings on the Fair Work Ombudsman's published register since the 2019-20 financial year, the first year a care-sector...
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The 2026 award changes, enforcement outcomes and decisions affecting SCHADS, aged care, health professional and not-for-profit employers, organised by sector. On this page Recent additions What changed across every sector SCHADS Aged care Health...
On this page Recent additions What changed across every sector SCHADS Aged care Health professionals Not-for-profit and community organisations Recent additions 13 Oct The Commonwealth announced $630 million to help organisations it funds pass on award pay...
Read the full article →Rostering decisions can have a significant impact on both SCHADS Award compliance and service profitability. This session will unpack the hidden costs within workforce planning, from minimum engagements and penalties to travel time and inefficient rostering, and...
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How confident are you that your payroll is paying employees correctly? This practical session will uncover where SCHADS Award underpayments can hide, from payroll configuration and flat rates to salaries, IFAs, penalties and allowances.
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The Fair Work Ombudsman has a national, multi-year inquiry underway into workplace compliance in the disability support services sector. The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) has a national, multi-year inquiry underway into workplace compliance in the disability support...
The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) has a national, multi-year inquiry underway into workplace compliance in the disability support services sector, which it has identified as one of its priority areas. The regulator says its previous work in the sector has...
Read the full article →Wage costs go up in the final quarter of 2026 for many Australian care providers: the Health Professionals Award moves on 1 October and SCHADS Schedule E on 1 December, under separate decisions by the Fair Work Commission.
Updated September 2026The SCHADS Schedule E interim increase has moved. On 11 September the Expert Panel confirmed the increase and deferred its start from 1 October to 1 December 2026. The Health Professionals Award changes are not affected and start on 1...
Read the full article →The Fair Work Commission's 2026 determination changes the structure of sleepover shifts under SCHADS. This framework walks through what changes and what to do before 1 June. Sleepover shifts under SCHADS have been the subject of significant litigation and regulatory...
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End of financial year has a way of arriving faster than anyone expects. The good news is that a smooth finalisation is mostly about preparation. If your employee data is clean, your pay runs are reconciled and your categories are set up correctly, lodging your...
End of financial year has a way of arriving faster than anyone expects. The good news is that a smooth finalisation is mostly about preparation. If your employee data is clean, your pay runs are reconciled and your categories are set up correctly, lodging...
Read the full article →As industry specialists with over a decade of experience it is not uncommon for Effective HR to be engaged as an independent expert in serious workplace matters, including cases that progress through formal litigation.
As industry specialists with over a decade of experience it is not uncommon for Effective HR to be engaged as an independent expert in serious workplace matters, including cases that progress through formal litigation. In one such matter, we were asked to...
Read the full article →The Fair Work Commission has handed down its Annual Wage Review 2026 decision. From the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026, modern award minimum rates will rise by 4.75%. The change affects around 2.8 million award-reliant employees across Australia. A...
The Fair Work Commission has handed down its Annual Wage Review 2026 decision. From the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026, modern award minimum rates will rise by 4.75%. The change affects around 2.8 million award-reliant employees across...
Read the full article →On-demand SCHADS Award Q&A with Effective HR. Real operator questions on the 1 June sleepover changes, broken shifts, excursions, IFAs and on-call pay. Effective HR consultants Corinne West and Laura Cowling answer the SCHADS Award questions sent in by hundreds of NDIS...
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NDIS price limits and the SCHADS Award are not the same thing. Treating them as the same is the single most expensive misconception in disability services. The NDIS Price Guide is a billing ceiling. The SCHADS Award is a labour cost floor. They are completely different...
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On-demand HR webinar with Effective HR. Practical guidance across the employee life cycle, from recruitment to offboarding, for Australian employers. In this on-demand session, Lead HR and IR Consultant Corinne West walks through the five stages of the employee life...
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Broken shifts under SCHADS attract a specific allowance and structure rules. Getting any of them wrong creates underpayment exposure across every shift of that type. A broken shift is not just a shift with a long break. The SCHADS Award sets out specific structure...
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Update April 2026: The Federal Court has now dismissed the Fair Work Ombudsman's appeal, confirming that sleepovers are separate from shifts. Update April 2026: The Federal Court has now dismissed the Fair Work Ombudsman's appeal, confirming that sleepovers are...
Update April 2026: The Federal Court has now dismissed the Fair Work Ombudsman's appeal, confirming that sleepovers are separate from shifts. The Fair Work Commission has since issued a determination varying the SCHADS Award, introducing changes to how...
Read the full article →The SCHADS Award is widely considered the most complex award in Australia. But the reason isn't just the rules, it's the structure. In reality, it's not one award. It's four different sectors combined into a single framework which has been stitched together, altered...
The SCHADS Award is widely considered the most complex award in Australia. But the reason isn't just the rules, it's the structure. In reality, it's not one award. It's four different sectors combined into a single framework which has been stitched together...
Read the full article →Recent Australian HR Institute reporting indicates a significant proportion of employers are actively considering workforce changes, including restructures and redundancies. That's not surprising given the current economic environment. What is consistent, however, is...
Recent Australian HR Institute reporting indicates a significant proportion of employers are actively considering workforce changes, including restructures and redundancies. That's not surprising given the current economic environment. What is consistent...
Read the full article →Payday superannuation is moving closer, and while much of the focus has been on what is changing, the more important question for many employers is what it will expose. The primary purpose of the change is to reduce the delay on when superannuation is paid to employees...
Payday superannuation is moving closer, and while much of the focus has been on what is changing, the more important question for many employers is what it will expose. The primary purpose of the change is to reduce the delay on when superannuation is paid to...
Read the full article →Before you publish the roster, run through these five checks. They cover the SCHADS-specific traps that show up in 80% of compliance audits. Rostering is where Award compliance lives or dies. The legal exposure is high, the pattern is repetitive, and the cost of...
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On-demand webinar with Corinne West on the SCHADS Award's most misunderstood provisions: coverage, salaries, IFAs, allowances and rostering risk. The SCHADS Award is one of the most complex modern awards in the NDIS and community services sector, and small misreadings...
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Classification under the SCHADS Award is where the most expensive compliance errors hide. This framework walks through the five questions every provider needs to answer. Classification looks simple. It is not. SCHADS has multiple streams (Social and Community, Crisis...
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On-demand webinar with Corinne West on navigating the SCHADS Award: streams, classifications, broken shifts, sleepovers, remote work and more. The SCHADS Award is one of the most complex modern awards, and small missteps in streams, classifications or rostering can...
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Psychosocial hazards are now treated the same as physical hazards under WHS law. This framework walks through what that means in practice for Australian employers. Since the 2022-2024 reforms to model WHS laws, psychosocial safety is no longer aspirational. It is...
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Payroll compliance in Australia is no longer a "tick-box" exercise. Wage theft is now a criminal offence, and errors that were once considered minor (e.g. misapplied awards, misclassified staff, or poor record-keeping)...
Payroll compliance in Australia is no longer a "tick-box" exercise. Wage theft is now a criminal offence, and errors that were once considered minor (e.g. misapplied awards, misclassified staff, or poor record-keeping) can cost a substantial amount in fines...
Read the full article →Most HR and compliance issues don't arrive as emergencies. They build gradually through small gaps in documentation, unclear processes, or changes in legislation that are easy to miss in the day-to-day running of a...
Most HR and compliance issues don't arrive as emergencies. They build gradually through small gaps in documentation, unclear processes, or changes in legislation that are easy to miss in the day-to-day running of a business. By the time a problem becomes...
Read the full article →A quick-reference decision flow for employers considering a redundancy. Designed to surface the questions that matter, not replace tailored advice. Redundancy under the Fair Work Act is genuine only when three legal tests are met, and even a strong process can be...
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Before a termination conversation, run through these five risk indicators. Each one is a place where a defensible decision can become an indefensible one. Termination is the single highest-risk decision an employer makes about an individual employee. The decision can...
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On-demand webinar with Effective HR MD Michelle Gabauer on the HR and payroll compliance risks costing Australian employers, and how to stay ahead of them. Australian HR and payroll compliance is no longer a back-office task: it is central to protecting your...
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A decision flow for the last week of a probation period. Get the timing wrong and a clean exit becomes an unfair dismissal claim. The probation period is the most-used and least-understood part of the employment relationship. The legal protection is the minimum...
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On-demand SCHADS Award Q&A with Corinne West. Real employer questions on classifications, overtime, sleepovers, broken shifts and payroll compliance. This on-demand Q&A session sees Corinne West, Lead HR/IR Consultant at Effective HR, work through the SCHADS questions...
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The minimum documentation set every Australian employer should have in place on day one. Missing any of these creates compliance risk that lasts the life of the employment. Onboarding is more than welcoming a new starter. It is the legal anchor for everything that...
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On-demand SCHADS webinar on engagement types, casual conversion, right to disconnect and roster compliance. Practical guidance from Effective HR. This on-demand session helps Australian employers engage and roster their workforce with clarity and confidence. Effective...
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