Free employment contract template (Australia)
A free Australian employment contract template from Quillio covers the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) essentials: parties, position, duties, remuneration, hours, leave entitlements, termination, post-employment restraints, and integration with the applicable modern award or enterprise agreement. I can generate a tailored contract in under a minute if you tell me the role, classification, salary, and whether an award applies.
Fair Work Act and NES compliance
Every Australian employment contract must comply with the 11 National Employment Standards (NES) in Part 2-2 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth): maximum weekly hours, flexible work requests, parental leave, annual leave, personal/carer's leave, community service leave, long service leave, public holidays, notice of termination and redundancy pay, Fair Work Information Statement, and casual employee conversion rights. A contract cannot provide less than the NES — any attempt is void under section 55.
Modern awards and enterprise agreements
Most private sector employees are covered by a modern award under Part 2-3 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). The contract should identify the award, classify the employee correctly, and either adopt award conditions or exceed them. High-income "set-off" clauses (absorbing award entitlements into an above-award salary) are common but must be drafted carefully under the BOOT test principles.
Common clauses
Position description and duties; remuneration (salary, superannuation at 11.5% minimum for 2025-26, allowances, bonuses); hours of work; probation (if any); leave entitlements (aligning with NES and award); termination notice; confidentiality; intellectual property assignment; post-employment restraints (subject to reasonableness); and integration/entire agreement clause.
How I generate employment contracts
Tell me the position, classification (award), salary, start date, and state. I produce a draft contract aligned with the current Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) and relevant award in under a minute. For employment and HR lawyers I handle volume contract work that previously sat in template spreadsheets.
Common issues
- Classifying an employee as casual when they work regular hours is a common compliance risk
- Restraint of trade clauses must be reasonable — overreach makes them unenforceable
- Superannuation is 11.5% from 1 July 2024 rising to 12% from 1 July 2025 — check the rate
Try Quillio on a real matter.
The fastest way to know if Quillio fits your practice is to use it on your own work. The free trial requires no credit card and no sales call.
Start your free trial