If you’ve ever hired someone in Australia and thought, “Wait, do I need to give them some kind of document?”
Yes, you do. It’s called the Fair Work Information Statement, and handing it over is one of your most basic legal obligations as an employer.
The good news? It’s free to download, takes minutes to send, and getting it right protects both you and your new hire from day one.
What is the Fair Work Information Statement (FWIS)?
The Fair Work Information Statement is a document published by the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) that every Australian employer must give to every new employee before or as soon as possible after they start work. No exceptions.
Think of it as the employee’s rights and entitlements cheat sheet. It covers the basics of Australia’s workplace laws in plain language, so your new staff member knows exactly where they stand.
The National Employment Standards (NES) connection
The FWIS sits alongside the National Employment Standards (NES), the 11 minimum employment standards that apply to all employees in Australia covered by the national workplace system. These include things like maximum weekly hours, leave entitlements, flexible working arrangements, and notice periods.
The statement doesn’t replace the NES. It points employees toward them. By giving someone the FWIS, you’re giving them a roadmap to their legal minimums, which makes for a much cleaner working relationship right from the start.
What information does the FWIS cover?
The current Fair Work Information Statement covers:
- The NES (a plain-language overview of all 11 standards)
- Modern awards (what they are and how to find out if one applies)
- Making agreements (how enterprise agreements and individual flexibility arrangements work)
- Individual flexibility arrangements (the employee’s rights if asked to enter one)
- Freedom of association (the right to join or not join a union)
- Termination of employment (minimum notice periods and unfair dismissal rules)
- Right of entry (when union officials can enter a workplace)
- The role of the Fair Work Commission (where to go if something goes wrong)
- The Fair Work Ombudsman (how to get help with workplace questions)
You always use the most current version from the FWO website. Do not recycle an old PDF from a previous hire.
Who must provide the FWIS statement?
Every employer covered by the Fair Work Act 2009 (which includes the vast majority of private sector businesses in Australia) must provide the FWIS to every new employee. Full stop.
Whether you run a tradie operation with two apprentices, a cafรฉ with casual weekend staff, or a small agency with a mix of part-time and full-time team members, the obligation applies to you.
Obligations for new employees
The FWIS must be given to every new employee before their employment begins or as soon as practicable after they start. That phrase “as soon as practicable” is not a licence to forget about it for a week. Courts have interpreted it strictly, and the Fair Work Ombudsman takes a dim view of employers who leave it too long.
The obligation applies regardless of:
- Employment type (full-time, part-time, casual, fixed-term)
- Hours worked (even one shift)
- Industry or sector
- Business size
There’s no minimum hours threshold. A casual who works a single Saturday shift is entitled to the FWIS before or when they start.
Fixed-term contract employees
Employees on fixed-term contracts get an extra layer of protection that came into effect from 6 December 2023. On top of the FWIS, they must also receive the Fixed Term Contract Information Statement (FTCIS) before or at the start of their contract.
The FTCIS explains the rules around fixed-term contracts, including the two-year limit on consecutive fixed-term arrangements for the same role with the same employer, and the exceptions that apply in certain circumstances.
FWIS vs. Casual Employment Information Statement (CEIS)
Since August 2024, Australian employers can be required to provide up to three different information statements when bringing on new staff. Most small business owners I speak to don’t realise this until they’re already in their second year of operating.
Here’s a quick breakdown:
| Statement | Who receives it | When |
|---|---|---|
| Fair Work Information Statement (FWIS) | All new employees | Before or ASAP after start |
| Casual Employment Information Statement (CEIS) | All casual employees | Before or at the start of employment, then at set intervals |
| Fixed Term Contract Information Statement (FTCIS) | Fixed-term contract employees | Before or at the start of the contract |
The CEIS is specifically for casual employees and outlines their rights under the casual employment provisions of the Fair Work Act, including the definition of a casual employee, pathways to permanent employment, and the right to request conversion.
When do you provide both the FWIS and the CEIS?
If you’re hiring a casual, you hand over both the FWIS and the CEIS. Not one or the other (both, at the same time).
After that initial handover, the CEIS obligations don’t end. As an employer, you need to provide it again:
- At the 12-month mark (applies to all employers, including small businesses)
- Every 12 months after that
If you’re not a small business (i.e., you employ 15 or more people), you also need to provide the CEIS at the 6-month mark. Small businesses (fewer than 15 employees) skip the 6-month requirement but still need to hit every 12-month anniversary.
Set a calendar reminder. Seriously. It’s the simplest compliance tip I can give you.
When and how should the FWIS be provided to employees?
Knowing you have to provide the FWIS is one thing. Doing it correctly and being able to prove you did is what protects you.
The Fair Work Act says the FWIS must be provided:
- Before employment begins, or
- As soon as practicable after employment begins
The safest approach is to include it in your onboarding pack before the employee’s first shift. If you’re using an online process, send it as part of the digital onboarding workflow the moment the contract is signed.
Don’t wait until the end of week one. Don’t bundle it into a stack of other forms that sits in a drawer. And definitely don’t skip it because you’re busy with the weekend rush.
Providing employees with the statement
The Fair Work Ombudsman accepts the following delivery methods:
- Printed copy (handed over in person)
- Email (sent as an attachment or with a download link to the PDF)
- Link to the FWO website (you can point the employee to the current version on fairwork.gov.au, provided they can access it easily)
If you go the email or link route, keep a record that it was sent. Screenshot the sent email. Log the date in your HR system. A verbal “oh yeah, I told them about it” won’t hold up if you’re ever audited.
Acknowledgement of receipt: why it matters
Here’s a habit worth building into your onboarding process: ask every new employee to sign a simple acknowledgement confirming they received the FWIS.
It doesn’t need to be a formal legal document. A one-line statement works:
“I confirm I received the Fair Work Information Statement on [date].”
This small step creates a clear paper trail. If a complaint is ever made, you have dated, signed proof. Without it, it’s your word against theirs.
In a Federal Circuit Court case reported by Hillhouse Legal, an employer with just three employees was fined $2,700 for failing to provide the FWIS, even though the employees suffered no financial harm. The court was clear: not knowing the obligation existed was not a valid defence. The maximum penalty at the time was $54,000. Under the current schedule, body corporates can face up to $93,900 per contravention.
Ensure you are using the current version
This is the one I see small businesses get wrong most often: they have a version of the FWIS saved somewhere in their email drafts or shared drive, and they keep sending the same PDF to every new hire for years.
The Fair Work Ombudsman updates the statement periodically, and you must always use the most current version. Using an outdated version means you’ve technically failed to provide the statement correctly.
Keep up with recent changes to workplace laws
The FWIS has been updated to reflect some significant legislative changes in recent years. As of 2024 and 2025, the statement now covers:
- Pay secrecy (employees have the right to share, or not share, information about their pay with colleagues)
- Fixed-term contract limits (the 2-year cap on rolling fixed-term contracts introduced in December 2023)
- Casual conversion rights (updated pathways for casual employees to become permanent)
- Right to disconnect (the right for employees to refuse unreasonable out-of-hours contact, which came into effect for larger employers in 2024 and all employers from August 2025)
The easiest way to stay current: bookmark the FWO’s statement download page and go directly to it every single time you hire someone. Don’t rely on a saved copy.
Quick tip: Set a recurring annual reminder to check fairwork.gov.au for any updates to the FWIS. Takes 2 minutes. Potentially saves you tens of thousands.
Penalties for non-compliance to the FWIS
When 82% of small businesses say red tape has a major or moderate impact on their operations (according to the ACCI’s 2024 Small Business Conditions Survey), it’s easy to see how a requirement like the FWIS gets lost in the noise. But the consequences are real and they land hard.
What happens if you fail to provide the statement?
The Fair Work Ombudsman’s enforcement activity is at its highest level in years. According to the FWO Annual Report 2024โ25, in that year alone the FWO:
- Recovered $358 million in unpaid wages for more than 249,000 workers
- Issued 1,220 compliance notices
- Filed 73 new litigations
- Received 28.7 million website visits, many from workers checking their rights
And this is the part most employers don’t expect: you don’t have to underpay someone to be penalised. Failing to hand over the FWIS (a free document) is a standalone contravention.
Current maximum penalties:
| Contravening party | Maximum penalty per contravention |
|---|---|
| Individual employer | $18,780 |
| Body corporate | $93,900 |
The Federal Circuit Court has consistently held that employees are entitled to know their rights from day one. Failing to inform them, even without bad intent, undermines the entire purpose of the Fair Work Act.
There’s no grace period, no “first offence” exemption, and no minimum employee threshold. One hire, one missed FWIS, one potential penalty.
Managing your FWIS process the smart way
Keeping track of who received what document and when is the kind of admin that gets messy fast, especially when you’re growing your team, mixing casual and permanent staff, or managing employees across different start dates.
That’s exactly where Payroller’s employee management features come in. Payroller’s document management tools let you:
- Store and track employee documents in one central place (no more searching through old email threads)
- Record key dates like onboarding completion, CEIS review dates, and contract milestones
- Manage employee information for HR needs, from tax file declarations to signed acknowledgements
- Keep everything accessible for both you and your team, without printing off stacks of paperwork
Running payroll and staying compliant shouldn’t eat up your week. With the right system behind you, handing over the Fair Work Information Statement on day one becomes just another step in a smooth, documented onboarding process.
Join 180,000+ Australian businesses using Payroller โ because compliance doesn’t have to be hard.
Frequently asked questions about the Fair Work Information Statement
Do I need to give the statement to existing employees?
No. The FWIS obligation applies to new employees at the start of their employment. You don’t need to retroactively provide it to staff you’ve had for years.
That said, if an existing casual employee reaches their 12-month anniversary, you do need to give them the CEIS again on that date. So while the FWIS is a one-time obligation per employee, the CEIS has ongoing timing requirements.
If you’ve never provided the FWIS to a long-term employee because it slipped through the cracks when they were hired, speak to an employment lawyer or HR professional about your options. The FWO’s small business helpline (13 13 94) is also a free resource.
Is the statement available in other languages?
Yes. The Fair Work Ombudsman publishes the FWIS in over 30 languages, including Arabic, Mandarin, Vietnamese, Korean, Italian, Greek, Spanish, Tagalog, and many others.
If you employ someone whose first language isn’t English, providing the statement in a language they actually understand is a genuinely good practice, not just a legal tick. An employee who actually reads and understands their rights is less likely to have disputes with you later.
You can find the translated versions on the Fair Work Ombudsman’s website alongside the English version.