21 September 2020

Compliance with the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth)

The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) has alerted the NDIS Commission that some NDIS providers are not complying with their obligations under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth).

A failure by registered NDIS providers to comply with applicable workplace laws is a breach of the conditions of their registration under the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 and a contravention of that Act. Therefore, the NDIS Commission is able to take compliance or enforcement action in respect of any non-compliance with workplace laws.

We encourage all NDIS providers whether registered with the NDIS Commission or not to adopt regular and rigorous reviews of their workplace relations systems and practices to ensure payroll systems are current and any issues are identified early.

When reviewing systems and practices, NDIS providers should ensure:

• they have appropriate expertise and have accurately applied any industrial instruments that apply to their workforce at any point in time;
• payroll processes and systems fully comply with their workplace obligations and have been set up and coded correctly;
• human resource policies, practices and templates reflect current workplace obligations; and
• staff are able to provide feedback on queries and issues regarding their workplace entitlements.

The FWO website has a range of tools, resources and guides to promote and support compliance with workplace laws.

If an NDIS provider identifies serious or significant non-compliance under workplace laws, it is important they:

• identify, review and revise the systems that may have contributed to the non-compliance;
• act quickly to rectify the non-compliance;
• consult with staff; and
• continue to monitor and review their workplace relations practices to ensure compliance in the future.

NDIS providers who find themselves in this position should contact the FWO and seek advice on workplace relations matters by contacting the FWO’s Corporate Sector Team: CorporateAssurance@fwo.gov.au. In accordance with the FWO’s Compliance and Enforcement Policy the FWO strongly encourages providers to be open, transparent and cooperative with the FWO – see pages 13 and 14 of the FWO’s Compliance and Enforcement Policy.

Contact Us

• Call: 1800 035 544 (free call from landlines). Our contact centre is open 9.00am to 4.30pm in the NT, 9.00am to 5.00pm in the ACT, NSW, QLD, SA, TAS and VIC Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays.
• Email: contactcentre@ndiscommission.gov.au
• Website: www.ndiscommission.gov.au

Links to previous provider alerts 

Visit the NDIS Commission website to see our previous provider alerts.