Norfolk Island reform

Previous legislation

This page summarises previous legislative changes. The information on this page was accurate at the time of publishing.

Some information on this page may no longer apply. For recent updates, visit Legislation changes.

Norfolk Island employees are part of the Fair Work system and are covered by the Fair Work Act and other related laws.

On this page:

Norfolk Island began transitioning to Australia's national workplace relations system (also known as the Fair Work system) in July 2016. The transition ended on 1 July 2018.

What Norfolk Island employees are entitled to

Under the Fair Work system, Norfolk Island employees are entitled to:

  • pay rates and conditions outlined in an award or an agreement if one applies
  • the National Minimum Wage if no award or agreement applies
  • other entitlements, such as the National Employment Standards.

Awards

Awards can cover Norfolk Island employees. Awards set out wages and conditions, including minimum pay rates, overtime and penalty rates for industries or occupations. For more information on using an award and how to find yours, see our Awards page.

To calculate the minimum pay rates, penalties and allowances in your award, you can use our Pay Calculator.

Junior employees (employees under 21) get a percentage of the relevant adult award pay rate unless the award doesn’t have junior rates. If there aren’t junior rates in the award, but the junior’s work is still covered by the award, they’re paid the same as adult employees. For more information, see Junior pay rates.

Apprentices and trainees get the relevant apprentice or trainee wage as outlined in their award. Find out more about Apprentice and trainee pay rates.

Employees with reduced work capacity because of disability usually get a percentage of the minimum pay rate for their classification under an award. For more information about employees with disability, see Employees with disability pay rates.

Agreements

A business may have an enterprise agreement or other registered agreement that applies to their employees. The agreement will set out minimum employment terms and conditions, including pay rates. For more information, see Agreements.

You can find enterprise agreements and other registered agreements at Fair Work Commission website – Find an agreement.

Award and agreement free employees

Most employees are covered by an award or an agreement, but a few jobs and industries aren't.

Employees that aren't covered by an award or an agreement are entitled to the National Minimum Wage. The National Minimum Wage for a full-time adult employee is $915.90 per week or $24.10 per hour.

Junior employees not covered by an award get a percentage of the National Minimum Wage. For a table of these rates, visit Award and agreement free wages and conditions.

To find out how to check if an employee is award- or agreement-free, visit our Award and agreement free wages and conditions page.

National Employment Standards

Norfolk Island employees are also entitled to the National Employment Standards (NES).

The NES make up the minimum entitlements for employees and include things like sick leave, annual leave and public holiday entitlements.

Public holidays

The following public holidays (and any additional or substitute days) apply:

  • New Year's Day
  • Australia Day
  • Foundation Day
  • Good Friday
  • Easter Monday
  • ANZAC Day
  • Anniversary (Bounty) Day
  • Queen's Birthday
  • Show Day
  • Thanksgiving Day
  • Christmas Day
  • Boxing Day.

To check public holiday dates for Norfolk Island, visit the Norfolk Island government website.

For more information about working and not working on a public holiday, visit our Public holiday penalty rates and Not working on public holidays pages.

Ending employment

To work out notice and redundancy entitlements, use our Notice and Redundancy Calculator.

Only continuous service after 1 July 2016 is counted for:

  • notice
  • redundancy pay, unless the employee had an entitlement to redundancy pay before 1 July 2016.

Employees can apply for unfair dismissal if they've worked for more than 6 months, or 12 months if they were employed by a small business (a business with less than 15 employees).

Tax and superannuation

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) gives advice and information about tax requirements and super guarantee contributions.

The super guarantee is transitioning for Norfolk Island employees, which means the entitlement will increase each year until it reaches the same percentage as the general super guarantee. See the ATO's Super guarantee percentage table for the percentage increments.

For more information about the superannuation guarantee, contact the ATO on 13 10 20 or visit the ATO website.

For questions about your tax, contact the ATO on 13 28 61 or visit the ATO website.

Norfolk Island laws that no longer apply

Contracts, agreements and determinations made under the following laws stopped applying from 1 July 2018:

  • Norfolk Island Employment Act 1988
  • Norfolk Island Public Service Act 2014
  • Norfolk Island Public Sector Remuneration Tribunal Act 1992.

Pay and entitlements before 1 July 2018

Norfolk Island’s transition to the Fair Work system began on 1 July 2016 and ended on 30 June 2018.

For information about what Norfolk Island employees were entitled to during the transition, read Norfolk Island 2016 – June 2018 in our Library.

Find more help

For help with pay rates or more information on how the Fair Work system affects you, call us for the price of a local call on Norfolk Island. See Call us.

Related information