Workplace Ombudsman’s education and compliance campaign in aged care

The Office of the Workplace Ombudsman is undertaking an education and compliance campaign in the aged care industry, in New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia, auditing compliance with provisions of the Workplace Relations Act 1996, and the Workplace Relations Regulations 2006.

It will pay particular attention to the employment conditions of vulnerable workers.

Compliance with employer and employee rights and obligations relating to pay slips, time and wages record-keeping, will be audited, along with possible audits of correct pay rates, loading and penalty rates, non remunerated additional hours of work (including unpaid trial work), employers’ obligations when negotiating workplace agreements, approval and lodgement of workplace agreements, and apprentice and traineeship arrangements.

The first stage of the campaign will start this month (February) with the distribution of information packs to employers, then in March by compliance audits of a targeted number of employers.

The office advises that when audits are conducted, inspectors first work with employers and workers to attempt to resolve any identified issues voluntarily.

However, if inspectors identify serious breaches of the law, especially if they have occurred knowingly, they have the option to seek penalties before the courts, of up to $33,000 for failing to provide entitlements under industrial instruments.