Information on the state and national industrial relations systems

You need to know which system covers your employment for reporting wage theft.

Private sector businesses in Western Australia and their employees are either in the state industrial relations system or the national fair work system, based on how the business or organisation is operated.

State system employers are those that are:

  • sole traders;
  • unincorporated partnerships where none of the partners in the business are Pty Ltd entities;
  • unincorporated trust arrangements where none of the trustees or other entities in the trust arrangement are Pty Ltd entities;
  • incorporated associations and other not-for-profit organisations that do not have sufficiently substantial trading or financial activities to be considered a constitutional corporation.

National system employers are those that are:

  • Pty Ltd businesses;
  • incorporated partnerships where one or more of the partners in the business is a Pty Ltd entity;
  • incorporated trust arrangements where one or more of the trustees or other entities in the trust arrangement is a Pty Ltd entity;
  • incorporated associations and other not-for-profit organisations that have sufficiently substantial trading or financial activities to be considered a constitutional corporation.

If you need help checking which system of employment law applies call Wageline on 1300 655 266 with the name of the business and we can do a search over the phone.

Watch Wageline’s video on this topic

Which system of employment law applies?
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