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The test for who counts as an employee has changed. An ABN and a signed contract no longer settle it. Here is what actually decides the question now. For several years the safe answer was reassuringly simple: if you had a well-drafted contract saying someone was an independent contractor, that was largely the end of the argument. That is no longer the position, and a lot of businesses have not caught up. Getting this wrong is expensive in a way that compounds. A worker found

This week marks an important checkpoint for Australian employers. The right to disconnect has now applied to non-small business employers since 26 August 2024, and to small business employers since 26 August 2025. That means many businesses are no longer in the “getting ready” phase. They are now in the “can we show this is working in practice?” phase. For employers, this is not just an HR policy issue. It also connects directly with workload, stress, fatigue, psychosocial ha

Most underpayment starts with the wrong award classification, not dishonesty. Here is how classification errors happen and how to check yours properly. Almost every underpayment matter we see started the same way. Nobody set out to underpay anyone. Someone was put on a rate that seemed fair, the business grew, the job changed, and nobody went back to check what the award actually required. Classification is where underpayment begins, and it is the part employers are least equ