Private and independent schools
Private schools and independent schools are private employers. They're covered by the Fair Work Act 2009 (FW Act).
An independent school in Western Australia won’t be covered by the national system if it’s run by one of the following:
- sole traders
- partnerships, in which none of the partners are foreign, trading or financial corporations
- other unincorporated entities, or
- non-trading corporations.
Public schools
Public schools in the following states and territories are covered by the FW Act:
- Victoria
- Australian Capital Territory
- Northern Territory.
Public schools in the following states aren’t covered by the FW Act.
- New South Wales
- South Australia
- Queensland
- Tasmania
- Western Australia.
They’re covered by the state system. These employees should refer to their state industrial relations body to find out if there’s an instrument that covers them.
What to do next
- Find out about Awards & agreements
- Find out more about Employment contracts
- Test your knowledge about awards and agreements with our Workplace Basics quiz
- Find out about the Award classifications
- Find out about Other workplace relations help
