Spotlight on the Australia Fair Work Act: Recordkeeping Obligations

Employers in Australia are required  to keep employee records for seven years, and the records must not be false or misleading.

What Is an Employee Record?

Employee records include the following:

• The employee’s name, plus the employer’s name and Australian business number.
• Whether the employee is working full time or part time, and whether they are permanent, temporary, or casual.
• The date employment commenced.
• Rate of remuneration.
• Overtime worked.
• Agreements with the employee, such as those relating to average hours of work, the cashing out of leave, individual flexibility agreements, and guarantee of annual earnings.
• Gross and net amounts paid to the employee and any deductions made.
• Superannuation contributions.
• Entitlements or allowances such as incentives, bonuses, loadings, and penalty rates paid to the employee.
• Leave taken by the employee and the balance of the employee’s leave entitlement.
• Termination of employment.

Failure to keep employee records in accordance with the Fair Work Act 2009 and Fair Work Regulations 2009 may attract civil penalties.

Heather Richardson is an attorney with Kalus Kenny Intelex in Melbourne, Australia. © 2025 Kalus Kenny Intelex. All rights reserved. Reposted with permission of Lexology.