National Employment Standards (NES): The Minimums Every Australian Employer Owes

An award or contract can give more than the NES, but it can't give less or exclude them. If you employ anyone in Australia, these are your floor.

The NES entitlements

Entitlement	Full-time and part-time employees	Casual employees
Maximum weekly hours	38 hours plus reasonable additional hours (part-timers: 38 or their ordinary hours, whichever is less)	38 or their ordinary hours, whichever is less, plus reasonable additional hours
Annual leave	4 weeks paid a year, pro rata for part-time; eligible shift workers get 1 extra week	None paid
Personal (sick or carer's) leave	10 days paid a year, pro rata for part-time	None paid
Unpaid carer's leave	2 days per occasion once paid leave is used	2 days per occasion
Compassionate leave	2 days paid per occasion	2 days unpaid per occasion
Family and domestic violence leave	10 days paid a year	10 days paid a year
Parental leave	12 months unpaid after 12 months' service, extendable to 24 with agreement	The same for regular and systematic casuals
Notice of termination	1 to 5 weeks, based on service and age	None
Redundancy pay	4 to 16 weeks after 12 months' service, with exclusions	None

That family and domestic violence row is the one I'd point out to any small employer: it's 10 days of paid leave a year, and casual employees get it too. In the Fair Work Information Statement's summary, it's the only paid leave casuals get too.

The NES also cover community service leave, including jury duty, long service leave, public holidays, superannuation contributions, flexible working requests and the employee choice about casual employment.

How leave builds up

Annual leave accumulates from the first day of employment, even during probation, based on ordinary hours. Personal leave works the same way: Fair Work says it's 10 days for full-time employees, which can be calculated as 1/26 of ordinary hours in a year, so someone on 38 hours a week accrues 76 hours a year. Someone on half those hours gets half. The spread of hours across the week doesn't change the amount.

Redundancy pay: the 10-year drop

Continuous service	Minimum redundancy pay
1 to under 2 years	4 weeks
2 to under 3 years	6 weeks
3 to under 4 years	7 weeks
4 to under 5 years	8 weeks
5 to under 6 years	10 weeks
6 to under 7 years	11 weeks
7 to under 8 years	13 weeks
8 to under 9 years	14 weeks
9 to under 10 years	16 weeks
10 years or more	12 weeks

The insight in that table: NES redundancy pay falls from 16 weeks to 12 weeks at 10 years' service, so longer service doesn't always mean a bigger NES payment. Fair Work has a separate article on redundancy pay after 10 years of service. And most small business employers don't have to pay NES redundancy pay at all.

Flexible working requests

After 12 months' employment, employees can make a written request for flexible working if they're pregnant, 55 or over, a carer, have a disability, are experiencing or supporting a family member experiencing family and domestic violence, or are the parent of, or care for, a child of school age or younger. The employer has to follow set rules, including replying in writing within 21 days. Casuals can ask too if they've worked regular and systematic hours for at least 12 months and expect that to continue.

The documents you must give new staff

1. The Fair Work Information Statement (FWIS) to every new employee, before or as soon as possible after they start. The current version was last updated in July 2026.
2. The Casual Employment Information Statement (CEIS) to every new casual, at the start and at set times during their employment.
3. The Fixed Term Contract Information Statement (FTCIS) to employees entering a fixed term contract.

You can give the FWIS in person, by post, by email, or by emailing a link to Fair Work's page or a copy on your intranet. Download the latest one; an old copy shows out-of-date pay rates.

Where the NES sit alongside pay

The NES don't set pay rates. Those come from the award or enterprise agreement. Where there isn't one, the FWIS says the National Minimum Wage applies: as of October 2026, from 1 July 2026, $26.44 an hour or $1004.90 a week for full-time adults, and $33.05 an hour for casuals.

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My verdict

For a small Australian employer, the NES are a short list you can't contract out of: 38 hours, 4 weeks' annual leave, 10 days' personal leave, 10 days' paid family and domestic violence leave for everyone including casuals, and the right notice and redundancy tables. Hand every new starter the current FWIS, check whether an award sets their pay, and keep a copy of what you gave them.

Frequently asked questions

What are the National Employment Standards?

The minimum employment entitlements that must be provided to all employees in Australia's national workplace relations system, regardless of their award, agreement or contract.

How many NES entitlements are there?

Fair Work lists 11 headings plus the information statements: maximum weekly hours, flexible working requests, casual employment, parental leave, annual leave, personal and related leave, community service leave, long service leave, public holidays, superannuation, and notice and redundancy pay.

Do casual employees get NES entitlements?

Only some, including paid family and domestic violence leave, unpaid carer's and compassionate leave, unpaid community service leave and the information statements.

What is the maximum working week under the NES?

38 hours for full-time employees plus reasonable additional hours.

How much annual leave does the NES give?

4 weeks of paid leave a year for full-time and part-time employees, pro rata for part-time, with an extra week for eligible shift workers.

Do small businesses have to pay redundancy pay in Australia?

Fair Work says most small business employers don't have to pay redundancy pay under the NES.