Our policies

Find out more information about our internal policies, procedures and plans.

On this page:

How we do our work

Policies

Policies are our interpretations of the laws we enforce and internal policies and procedures we have in place.

Regulator performance

In 2021, the Australian Government released a Regulator Performance Guide (Guide), which outlines refreshed expectations for regulator performance and reporting.

Read more about the Guide on the Regulator performance page.

Legislative instruments and delegations

Legislative instruments and delegations outline the powers and responsibilities of certain individuals within FWO.

Audit and Risk Committee Charter

This charter sets out the objectives, authority and roles and responsibilities of the Fair Work Ombudsman Audit and Risk Committee.

Procedures for handling suspected breaches of the code of conduct

This sets out how we:

  • handle breaches of the Australia Public Service code of conduct
  • decide on the sanctions (if any), when an employee breaches the code of conduct.

Download the procedures:

Procedures for handling suspected fraud or corruption

Read our procedures for handling suspected fraud or corruption on our Fraud and corruption page.

Our commitment to you

Whenever you contact us, you can expect that we will treat you in a courteous, respectful and timely way. We will help you with your enquiry and take all necessary steps to provide you with a service you are satisfied with.

We recognise that your situation is unique and we will take the time to understand your individual circumstances. We expect to provide you with a greater understanding of your rights and responsibilities under the Australian workplace relations system. You can find out more on the Our commitment to you page.

Who we work with

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.

In particular, we are committed to promoting multi-stakeholder mechanisms such as the Cleaning Accountability Framework (CAF), that support workplace compliance.

Through a formal strategic collaboration with the CAF, we will provide support that will promote compliance with workplace laws in the cleaning sector for the benefit of vulnerable workers. Support may include:

  • sharing high-level insights about the industry
  • exploring training and secondment opportunities
  • leveraging stakeholder relationships to promote each other’s work.

In appropriate cases and as an alternative to, or in addition to, contrition payments, support may also include facilitating payments by an employer to the CAF negotiated through Enforceable Undertakings to further their objective of supporting workplace compliance.

For more information on contrition payments see our Compliance and Enforcement Policy Compliance and Enforcement Policy.

If during the course of our work we become aware of situations or issues that may be relevant to another government agency or authority, we may refer that information to the appropriate agency or authority. If we identify issues that may be criminal in nature, we refer this information to the Australian Federal Police. For example, this may occur if we:

  • are investigating a matter and we identify that there may be suspected people trafficking involved, or
  • identify breaches of the Fair Work Act 2009 that are criminal offences, such as when an employer or employee organisation gives, receives or solicits bribes.

You can find out more about how we engage with stakeholders at Engagement and collaboration.

Accessing our information

This is our policy on accessing information that we hold.

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Visit the Accessing our information page for more information about accessing information under the Information Access Policy.

Privacy

Privacy Policy

This is our policy on dealing with personal information.

Download the summary of the policy for an overview:

Download the policy:

Visit the Privacy page for more information on privacy when using our website.

Legal professional privilege policy

This is a guide on how we deal with claims for Legal Professional Privilege.

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Procedures for handling public interest disclosures

This sets out our procedures for handling public interest disclosures under the Public Interest Disclosure Act. Find out how to make a disclosure on our Public interest disclosures page.

Download the procedures:

Diversity and inclusion

Diversity and inclusion strategy

Our Diversity and inclusion strategy sets out how we will achieve our goals to:

  • ensure access and opportunity for all
  • increase awareness through training and sharing our experiences
  • drive and exemplify an inclusive, flexible and collaborative workplace.

Download the strategy:

Multicultural Access and Equity Action Plan

Our Multicultural Access and Equity Action Plan ensures that everyone who deals with us gets equal access to our services, including people from diverse cultural backgrounds.

Download the plan:

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Employment Strategy

It is important that the Fair Work Ombudsman increase our representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and provide a positive working environment for all. There are many talented Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who possess unique skills and experiences. Increasing our representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people will assist us to better meet the needs of the community.

Download the strategy:

Gender Equality Action Plan

Our Gender Equality Action Plan sets out how we will embed gender equality across our agency.

We will strive to:

  • drive a culture where gender equality is valued and considered in planning and decision making
  • achieve greater gender equality in senior leadership (EL2 and above)
  • increase the take-up of flexibility arrangements amongst all employees
  • incorporate measurement and evaluation of our progress into current reporting and communicate progress to the agency annually.

Download the plan:

Reconciliation Action Plan

Our vision for reconciliation is for a fair, diverse and socially inclusive workplace where we build understanding and respect amongst our employees for the histories and living cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and their contribution to the social, economic and cultural life of Australia.

This understanding and respect will be reflected in our services.

Download the plan:

Tools and resources

Related information

Have a workplace problem?

Problems can happen in any workplace. If you have a workplace problem, we have tools and information to help you resolve it.

Check out our Fixing a workplace problem section for practical information about:

  • working out if there is a problem
  • speaking with your employer or employee about fixing the problem
  • getting help from us if you can't fix the problem.

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