For Immediate Release
Media release
02 November, 2009
Fair work website makes new IR laws simpler for small business
Australia’s small businesses can now access a complete range of free webinars about the Fair Work Act designed to
help them better understand their rights when it comes to employing staff.
on a variety of topics, allowing small businesses to watch 30-minute webinars on Fair Work information, or get a
quick summary with the two-minute quick guides.
Topics covered by the webinars, quick guides and whitepapers are:
Fair Work Act overview
Unfair dismissal
Collective bargaining
Fair Work Australia and the Fair Work Ombudsman
Compliance issues
The site includes video guides to help businesses navigate the new laws, free summary papers that can be
downloaded, regular live interactive web sessions and electronic newsletters to keep businesses updated.
Council of Small Business CEO, Jaye Radisich, said the website is an important tool for small business, particularly in
the current economic climate.
“The site will allow small businesses to get across the key issues in a matter of minutes,” Ms Radisich said.
“This is important because in most cases small businesses don’t have the luxury of an in-house HR manager or
lawyer that many big businesses have.”
“Watching a simple video on the Fair Work for Small Business website allows small businesses to access the
information that they need at any time of the day or night, for free.”
Fair Work for Small Business is an initiative of the Council of Small Business of Australia (COSBOA), together with
Workforce Guardian and Telstra Business, and is funded by the Australian Government.
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Media contacts:
Jaye Radisich, CEO - Council of Small Business of Australia: (02) 9660 0706
Fair Work for Small Business - Fact Sheet
What is Fair Work for Small Business?
Fair Work for Small Business is an online destination for small businesses to learn about the new Fair Work Act and
how it affects their business.
Who is involved?
Fair Work for Small Business is an initiative of The Council of Small Business of Australia, with Workforce Guardian
and Telstra Business. Fair Work for Small Business is funded by the Australian Government under the Fair Work
Education and Information program.
What is our purpose?
We’ve taken the hard work out of understanding the thousands of pages in the new Fair Work Act by condensing it
into simple, easy-to-understand language everyone can apply to their business and access for free online.
We want to reach small business owners and operators and give them tools to easily navigate the rules and
compliance obligations of the Fair Work Act through free online guides, live webinars and community forums.
How is the Fair Work Act explained?
Fair Work for Small Business has broken down what small business owners and operators need to know about the
new Fair Work Act into five easily digestible modules: a Fair Work Act Overview, Unfair Dismissal, Fair Work
Australia, Compliance and Collective Bargaining.
Each module consists of:
2-minute quick guide – a brief overview of the changes to the Fair Work Act
30-minute webinars –more detailed explanations on how the new Fair Work Act applies to small business
60-minute live webinars – an interactive live presentation with in-depth case studies and examples of the new obligations
Summary papers – helpful point-by-point information downloadable as a PDF file
FAQs section – Fair Work Act related questions answered in simple, easy-to-understand language
All information and online guides on the site are free to access.
What are the other key features of Fair Work for Small Business?
Fair Work for Small Business also hosts a moderated community forum where small business owners and operators
can discuss the Fair Work Act and ask questions of Workforce Guardian Employee Relations experts,.
Small business owners and operators can also receive updates on the Fair Work Act by signing up for free Fair Work
for Small Business newsletters.
For how long will Fair Work for Small Business run?
Fair Work for Small Business was launched on September 1, 2009 and will serve as a small business resource for
several months as content is continually rolled out.
What’s next for Fair Work for Small Business?
To make the content even more accessible to Australian small businesses, information from the Fair Work for Small
Business portal will be interpreted into six languages in the coming months: Arabic, Cantonese, Greek, Italian,
Mandarin and Vietnamese.
For those confused about whether their business qualifies as a ‘small business’ under the complex rules of the Fair
Work Act, the Small Business Calculator Guide is currently under development to help calculate and determine
whether the business is ‘small’ for the purposes of applying the new laws.
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