Insight
The National Employment Standards: All 11 Entitlements
21 Sep 2026
In short
The National Employment Standards (NES) are the 11 minimum entitlements in the Fair Work Act 2009 that apply to every employee in the national system. They cannot be contracted out of, reduced by an employment contract, or displaced by an award or agreement.
Next step: Reviewing your contracts and policies? See employment law or our fixed-term contracts guide.
The National Employment Standards are the floor under every employment relationship in the national system. Employers get into trouble not because they set out to underpay, but because a contract clause, a policy or a payroll setting sits just below the NES — and the NES always wins.
What are the National Employment Standards?
The National Employment Standards (NES) are 11 minimum employment entitlements set out in Part 2-2 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). They apply to all employees covered by the national workplace relations system, regardless of whether a modern award or enterprise agreement applies. A contract, award or agreement can be more generous than the NES; it cannot be less.
The 11 National Employment Standards
| # | Standard | What it provides |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maximum weekly hours | 38 hours per week for a full-time employee, plus reasonable additional hours |
| 2 | Requests for flexible working arrangements | Eligible employees can request a change to hours, pattern or location; employers must respond in writing and can refuse only on reasonable business grounds after genuine discussion |
| 3 | Offers and requests to convert from casual to permanent | A pathway for eligible casual employees to move to permanent employment |
| 4 | Parental leave and related entitlements | Up to 12 months unpaid parental leave, with a right to request a further 12 months |
| 5 | Annual leave | Four weeks paid annual leave per year (five for certain shiftworkers), accruing progressively |
| 6 | Personal/carer's leave, compassionate leave and family and domestic violence leave | 10 days paid personal/carer's leave a year, 2 days compassionate leave per occasion, and 10 days paid family and domestic violence leave a year |
| 7 | Community service leave | Unpaid leave for voluntary emergency activities; paid jury service leave for up to 10 days |
| 8 | Long service leave | A transitional entitlement; in practice most employees rely on state and territory long service leave legislation |
| 9 | Public holidays | A paid day off on a public holiday, subject to reasonable requests to work |
| 10 | Notice of termination and redundancy pay | Minimum notice periods by length of service, and scaled redundancy pay |
| 11 | Fair Work Information Statement | Must be given to every new employee; a Casual Employment Information Statement must also be given to casuals |
Who the NES applies to
The NES applies to national system employees. That covers employees of constitutional corporations (most Pty Ltd companies), Commonwealth employers, and employers in the territories, plus most private sector employers in the referring states. Some state public sector and local government employees sit outside the national system and are covered by state legislation instead.
Casual employees receive a reduced subset: unpaid carer's leave, unpaid compassionate leave, paid family and domestic violence leave, community service leave, the casual conversion entitlement, public holiday provisions, and the Information Statements. Long-term casuals also receive some additional entitlements.
Independent contractors are not covered. But whether someone is genuinely a contractor is a question of substance, not of what the agreement says — see our guides to contractors and subcontractors and labour hire arrangements.
Notice of termination and redundancy pay
Minimum notice under the NES is based on continuous service: one week for up to one year, two weeks for one to three years, three weeks for three to five years, and four weeks for more than five years — plus an additional week for employees over 45 with at least two years' service. Redundancy pay scales from four weeks at one year of service up to 16 weeks at nine to ten years. Small business employers (fewer than 15 employees) are generally not required to pay redundancy pay under the NES. For how this interacts with contractual severance, see severance vs redundancy pay.
Where employers go wrong
- Annualised salary clauses that absorb everything. A salary can offset award entitlements only if properly drafted and reconciled. Set-off clauses regularly fail on audit.
- Treating long-term casuals as casual forever. Casual conversion obligations and the statutory definition of casual employment are both live compliance risks.
- Contracting below the floor. A clause providing less than the NES is simply void to that extent; the NES entitlement still applies and the underpayment accrues.
- Missing the Information Statements. Failing to give the Fair Work Information Statement or Casual Employment Information Statement is a breach in its own right.
- Ignoring the award on top of the NES. The NES is the floor, not the ceiling. A modern award will usually add classifications, penalty rates, allowances, overtime and span-of-hours rules.
Consequences of breach
Breaching the NES is a civil remedy provision. The Fair Work Ombudsman can investigate, issue compliance notices and commence proceedings, and the courts can order back-payment plus penalties per contravention, with serious contravention penalties available for deliberate and systematic conduct. Directors and managers involved in a contravention can be personally liable as accessories. See our overview of the Fair Work Ombudsman.
Frequently asked questions
What are the 11 National Employment Standards?
Maximum weekly hours; requests for flexible working; casual conversion; parental leave; annual leave; personal, carer's, compassionate and family and domestic violence leave; community service leave; long service leave; public holidays; notice of termination and redundancy pay; and the Fair Work Information Statement.
Can an employment contract override the NES?
No. Any term providing less than a National Employment Standard has no effect to that extent. A contract can be more generous, and often is.
Do the NES apply to casual employees?
A reduced set applies — including unpaid carer's and compassionate leave, paid family and domestic violence leave, community service leave, casual conversion and the Information Statements. Long-term casuals may receive more.
Do the NES apply to small businesses?
Yes, with limited exceptions. The most significant is that employers with fewer than 15 employees are generally not required to pay NES redundancy pay.
What is the difference between the NES and a modern award?
The NES is the universal statutory minimum. A modern award applies to a particular industry or occupation and adds detail on top — classifications, pay rates, penalties, allowances and overtime.
Reviewing your employment contracts?
Most underpayment exposure we see comes from contract drafting, not bad intent. Contact Envision Legal for a fixed-fee review of your employment contracts, casual arrangements and set-off clauses against the NES and any applicable award.
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