If You Don't Have These 10 Things in Place, Your Business Might Already Be Non-Compliant

Still relying on handshake agreements or recycled contracts? Not having up-to-date, legally sound agreements is a time bomb. Modern awards and NES entitlements change — your paperwork needs to keep up.

Real-world example: A small business in Melbourne was hit with over $50,000 in back-pay requirements when it couldn't prove it had communicated overtime arrangements correctly in writing.

It's not enough to say "we don't tolerate it." You need a policy that outlines what's tested, when, how, and what happens next — all done ethically and in line with Australian standards. 

And no, that dusty policy from 2015 doesn't count.

This is where all the "how we do things here" stuff lives. 

From leave to uniforms to how to report a safety issue — your handbook should speak your language, be up to date, and be read by every employee.

If your current plan is "we'll deal with it if it happens," that's not a process — that's exposure. 

Employees are more informed than ever. So are regulators. According to the Fair Work Commission, workplace complaints escalated to formal proceedings increased by 18% in the past year alone.

Not just physical risks. Think: fatigue, mental health, aggressive behaviour, workplace conflict. 

If you're not actively identifying and addressing these, it'll show when something goes wrong.

Do you have records of training, inductions, incident reports, testing results, and safety meetings? If someone asked you to produce them today — could you?

Real-world example: A construction business faced penalties after a minor workplace incident because they couldn't produce evidence of safety training they claimed had occurred.

Offer letters, warnings, leave requests, exit processes. You shouldn't be Googling a form five minutes before a conversation. 

Systems protect everyone — including you.

If you're not reading every update from Fair Work, Safe Work, and the ATO… that's okay. 

Most people aren't. But someone should be keeping you ahead of the curve.

Compliance isn't a solo sport. Whether it's HR, safety, or screening — outsourcing to a specialist isn't a sign of weakness. It's a sign you know what matters, and you know when to get the right help.

This is the big one. Just because things have worked fine so far doesn't mean they always will. 

What protects your business isn't luck — it's structure, ethics, and preparedness.