Like many international students, you may be working or looking to work in Australia while you study.
The Fair Work Ombudsman has information and advice to help young workers and students starting work, including:
- Pay, entitlements and working conditions
- Resolving workplace issues and getting help
- Starting a new job checklist and guide
There are also useful dedicated pages for international students such as:
- The visa holders and migrants page which has useful and practical information about your visa, the Assurance Protocol, and how the Fair Work Ombudsman can help.
- The language help page which contains professionally translated information into different languages.
It is important to keep a record of the hours you work, where and the type of work you’re doing. Use a diary or download the free Record My Hours app. The app is available in 18 languages.
Secure Jobs, Better Pay – changes to Australian workplace laws
The Australian Government has passed the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Act 2022. This legislation amends the Fair Work Act 2009 to change a number of existing rules, and introduces a range of new workplace laws.
Many of these changes started on 7 December 2022, but other changes start throughout 2023. You can access a downloadable version of the Secure Jobs, Better Pay timeline.
Family and domestic violence leave
All employees are entitled to family and domestic violence leave each year. This includes full-time, part-time, and casual employees.
Employees can take paid leave to deal with family and domestic violence from different dates depending on the size of their employer. The leave is available from:
- 1 February 2023, for employees of non-small business employers
- 1 August 2023, for employees of small business employers.
Employees of small business employers can continue to take unpaid family and domestic violence leave until 1 August 2023.
The Fair Work Ombudsman regularly offers FREE webinars tailored to young workers and international students on a variety of topics. To find out about our upcoming webinars, visit www.fairwork.gov.au/webinars.
To keep up to date on workplace rights and obligations or if you have a question, you can:
- Register with My account to make an online enquiry
- Subscribe to email updates
- Follow the FWO on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn
- Call the Fair Work Infoline on 13 13 94 or the free Translating and Interpreting Service on 131 450.
