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Office of the Fair Work Ombudsman
Agency overview
Formed	1 July 2009; 15 years ago
Employees	1000+
Minister responsible	Murray Watt, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations;
Agency executive	Anna Booth, Fair Work Ombudsman;
Website	www.fairwork.gov.au

The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) (or formally, the Office of the Fair Work Ombudsman), is an independent statutory agency of the Government of Australia that serves as the central point of contact for free advice and information on the Australian national workplace relations system. The Office of the Fair Work Ombudsman also investigates workplace complaints and enforces compliance with national workplace laws.

The FWO, along with the Fair Work Commission (former Fair Work Australia), the national workplace relations tribunal, began operation on 1 July 2009 under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The agency head is the Fair Work Ombudsman, Anna Booth, who reports to the Hon. Murray Watt MP, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations.

Office holders

The agency is headed by the Fair Work Ombudsman who is appointed by the relevant Minister under the Fair Work Act 2009 for a term up to 5 years.^[2] There have been four statutory appointments to that office since the FWO's inception:

Name	Years in office	Prior & subsequent roles
Nicholas Wilson	2009–2013	Workplace Ombudsman (2007–2009)^[3] Commissioner of the Fair Work Commission (2013–present)^[4]
Natalie James	2013–2018	Senior manager at the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (to 2013)^[5] Partner, Deloitte (2018–22)^[6] Chair of the Victorian Government Inquiry into the Victorian On-Demand Workforce (2018–20)^[7] Secretary of the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (2022–present)^[8]
Sandra Parker PSM	2018–2023	Deputy Secretary at the Department of Jobs and Small Business (2011–2018)^[9]^[10]
Anna Booth	2023–present	Deputy President of the Fair Work Commission (2012–2020)^[11]

Operational activities

The functions of the Fair Work Ombudsman are set out in section 682 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The Office of the Fair Work Ombudsman achieves its functions by:^[12]

providing education, assistance, advice and guidance to employers, employees, outworkers, outworker entities and organisations
promoting and monitoring compliance with workplace laws
inquiring into and investigating breaches of the Fair Work Act
taking appropriate enforcement action
performing its statutory functions efficiently, effectively, economically and ethically.

The Office of the Fair Work Ombudsman

The Office of the Fair Work Ombudsman consists of the Fair Work Ombudsman, supporting staff and Fair Work Inspectors who are all focused on serving the needs of everyone covered by the Australian workplace system. The Fair Work Ombudsman have offices in all capital cities and 14 regional locations across Australia.^[13]

Functions

The functions of the Office of the Fair Work Ombudsman, as set out in the Fair Work Act 2009, include:

Education and advice

The Fair Work Ombudsman offers employers and employees free information and advice on pay, conditions, and workplace rights and obligations under the national workplace relations system.^[14]

The FWO’s website offers a variety of information for employees and employers on Australian workplace laws, including:

Pay and wages
Leave
Starting and ending employment
Employment conditions
Workplace problems.

The FWO’s website also has tools and resources such as:

Pay Calculators^[15] that help people to work out entitlements under Australian workplace laws
resources specifically designed to help small business including a Small Business Showcase, and
information and resources on specific industries and topics.

The FWO publishes regular content through its subscription services and across its communication channels including YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X to help inform the community about workplace rights and obligations. The FWO also publishes information on its compliance activities and enforcement outcomes through media releases.

Audits & Campaigns

The Fair Work Ombudsman conducts targeted campaigns and audits. Through targeted campaigns, the Ombudsman aims to inform employers in a specific industry of their obligations, and ensure that they understand and comply with Commonwealth workplace laws. Campaigns can be national, state-based or regional.^[16]

An audit is where Fair Work Inspectors check an employer's records to make sure they comply with Commonwealth workplace laws. Sometimes, FWO undertakes an audit or a series of audits in response to a complaint or information given by an industry association, a government minister, the media or another source.

Complaints

Those in the national workplace relations system can ask FWO for help with a workplace problem. This usually relates to pay and other conditions of employment such as leave, notice and hours of work. In accordance with its Compliance and Enforcement Policy,^[17] the FWO will make a decision about the best course of action to resolve the dispute. The FWO will consider the kinds of issues raised, its priority areas and its Compliance and Enforcement Policy.

Next steps

The Office of the Fair Work Ombudsman will make a decision about the best course of action to resolve the complaint. FWO might decide:

that the matter is outside of their jurisdiction and refer you somewhere else
that there has not been a breach of Commonwealth workplace laws
that mediation is the best way to resolve the issues
to conduct a formal investigation
to conduct an audit.

If the FWO decides to commence an investigation, it will look at employment records and documents to find out the facts of a workplace complaint and to decide if relevant parties have complied with Commonwealth workplace laws.

Compliance and enforcement

The Fair Work Ombudsman can inquire into and investigate breaches of the Fair Work Act.^[18] The FWO has a range of processes and enforcement options^[17] for contraventions which include:

Workplace investigations
Compliance notices
Infringement notices
Compliance Partnerships
Enforceable undertakings
Litigation.

References

^ CA 9305: Fair Work Ombudsman, National Archives of Australia, retrieved 1 May 2016^{[permanent dead link‍]}
^ Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) s 687
^ Arbib, Mark (24 June 2009). "Senior appointments to Fair Work". Ministers' Media Centre. Department of Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business: Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
^ Shorten, Bill (28 March 2013). "New appointments to Fair Work Commission". Ministers' Media Centre. Department of Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business: Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
^ Shorten, Bill (12 July 2013). "Fair Work Appointments". Ministers' Media Centre. Department of Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business: Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
^ Tadros, Edmund (11 September 2018). "Former Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James becomes Deloitte partner". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
^ "Inquiry into the Victorian On-Demand Workforce". Department of Premier and Cabinet. Victorian Government. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
^ Albanese, Anthony (22 June 2022). "Announcement Of New Department Secretaries". Prime Minister of Australia. Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
^ Laundy, Craig (22 June 2018). "Appointment of Fair Work Ombudsman". Ministers' Media Centre. Department of Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business: Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
^ Marin-Guzman, David (2 April 2023). "Workplace watchdog steps down after navigating 'perfect storm'". Australian Financial Review. Nine Entertainment Co. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
^ Burke, Tony (7 July 2023). "New Fair Work Ombudsman". Ministers' Media Centre: Ministers of the Employment and Workplace Relations Portfolio. Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
^ "Our role and purpose". Fair Work Ombudsman. Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
^ "Offices - Fair Work Ombudsman".
^ "Compliance and enforcement". Australian Government. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
^ "P.A.C.T Home -". calculate.fairwork.gov.au. Retrieved 30 September 2024.
^ Fair Work Ombudsman, Audits and campaigns, archived from the original on 22 February 2014
^ ^a ^b "Compliance and enforcement policy". 30 September 2024.
^ "V". Australian Government. Retrieved 17 December 2022.