Engagement and collaboration

Find information about how we engage and collaborate with the workplace community to promote harmonious, productive, cooperative and compliant workplace relations.

On this page:

Our approach

We engage and collaborate with the workplace community to:

  • exercise our functions under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Fair Work Act)
  • enable effective regulation
  • promote community confidence in us as the workplace regulator.

Our approach to stakeholder engagement is guided by our Stakeholder Engagement StrategyStakeholder Engagement Strategy and our Statement of IntentStatement of Intent.

Stakeholder advisory and reference groups

We have a standing advisory group, made up of peak employer and employee organisations, as well as priority area reference groups that support each of our priority areas. These groups are made up of industry-based employee and employer organisations.

Together, these groups inform our work and complement our existing and ongoing stakeholder and community engagement activities.

Our advisory group

We use our advisory group to consult and collaborate on important workplace relations issues.

The group is made up of peak employer and employee organisations who meet 3 times each year.

Our advisory group members include:

  • Australian Council of Trade Unions and member representatives
  • Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
  • Australian Industry Group
  • Business Council of Australia
  • Council of Small Business Organisations of Australia.

Our advisory group has established a Small Business Sub-Committee and Large Corporates Sub-Committee.

The Fair Work Ombudsman Advisory Group – Terms of Reference provides information about the group’s role, purpose and responsibilities.

Our priority reference groups

To help us regulate workplace relations across Australia, we consult with our priority reference groups. Working with our priority reference groups helps us to:

  • have regular communication with key stakeholders on important industry-based issues
  • identify opportunities to seek input on our advice, education resources and activities
  • identify new opportunities and initiatives to promote workplace compliance.

Learn more about our priority areas at Our priorities.

Our priority area reference groups include:

  • Aged care reference group
  • Agriculture reference group
  • Building and construction reference group
  • Disability support services reference group
  • Fast food, restaurants and cafes reference group
  • Higher Education reference group.

Formal arrangements

We work with many different stakeholders, including government agencies, employer and employee organisations and various authorities to promote and enforce compliance with workplace laws. This can be informal or involve a formal arrangement such as a Memorandum of Understanding or Exchange of Letters.

Some of the stakeholders we have formal arrangements with include:

  • Australian Federal Police
  • Australian Human Rights Commission
  • Australian Maritime Safety Authority
  • Australian Securities and Investments Commission
  • Australian Skills Quality Authority
  • Australian Taxation Office
  • Department of Employment and Workplace Relations
  • Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (WA)
  • Department of Home Affairs
  • Fair Work Commission
  • New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment
  • Services Australia.

International engagement

We actively engage with international stakeholders. Our objectives are to:

  • develop genuine bilateral relationships that benefit our operations and stakeholders
  • share our expertise to create a stronger regional and international regulatory environment
  • contribute to international regulatory developments that have domestic and international impacts
  • leverage international best practice and research to inform and position us as a leading and forward-thinking regulator.

We engage regularly with multilateral forums including the United Nation’s International Labour Organization and the International Association of Labour Inspection (the global professional association for labour inspection).

Case study

The Trans-Tasman Employment Regulators Forum (the Forum) is a joint initiative between the Fair Work Ombudsman and the New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment that aims to promote greater levels of compliance with workplace laws across the region by sharing best practice approaches and experiences.

The Forum was established in 2018 and formalised in 2020 through an Exchange of Letters. Since then, the parties have participated in a regular schedule of meetings and side-events to share information on topics including dispute resolution, education strategies and intelligence gathering. The Forum also has a focus on engaging with emerging issues in regulating workplaces and in positively contributing to developments and standard setting across the region.

For more information on our approach to stakeholder engagement or to collaborate with us, contact us at engagement@fwo.gov.au.

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