We design our targeted campaigns to help employers understand and comply with Commonwealth workplace laws.

If we target your industry or region, we first write to you and all other employers in the industry or region to tell you about the campaign and give you information about your workplace rights and responsibilities.

This first step gives you the chance and the resources to check you comply with Commonwealth workplace laws.

You may hear about the campaign through your industry association. This is because we talk with industry bodies before starting a campaign and invite them to give their input into the campaign. You may also learn about the campaign through the media.

About a month after you get the first letter, we choose a representative number of employers to undergo a compliance audit.

Note: We also, at times, run on-the-spot inspections and educational visits, where we write to you or advertise in the media to tell you it's happening.

Compliance audits - getting started

If you’re chosen for a compliance audit, we usually write to you again. This time we:

• broadly explain the compliance audit process
• ask you to provide us with your time and wage records for assessment.
  
  

Documents you need to give us

We usually ask for time and wage records for a 2 to 4 week period that includes a public holiday. You can photocopy the documents or provide an electronic copy.

The records we need includes:

• names of each of your employees, their employment status (full-time, part-time or casual) and their duties
• time sheets, attendance records, rosters or other documents showing actual hours worked (including any overtime hours where employees get an overtime rate) for each employee
• a sample of the pay slip you give to employees.
  

If your workers are independent contractors, you’ll need to provide copies of contracts, invoices and payment records.
 

Do you have problems preparing a copy of these documents? Contact the Fair Work Inspector to help you.

What happens next?

The Fair Work Inspector checks your records for contraventions of Commonwealth workplace laws (that is, where you have not complied with the law).

If your business complies, they will write to you with the results. The audit process is then complete.

If you do not comply

If your business does not comply with Commonwealth workplace laws:

• we ask you to fix the problem voluntarily
• if you do this, you must give evidence
• when you have fixed the problem, the Fair Work Inspector tells you the process is complete and we close your file.

If you don’t fix the problem, the Fair Work Inspector may progress the matter to a full investigation.

In certain circumstances, even when voluntary compliance has been achieved, we may choose to take further compliance action.

For more information, see our guidance notes. 

Do I have to participate in an audit?

If you don’t respond to our request for records, we'll issue you with a formal notice requiring you to produce records or documents. If you don't comply, we may take further enforcement action.

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