Employment Rights and Responsibilities

This website aims to be an overview of the major considerations for employees in the Outdoor/Active Recreation industry in Australia. It is primarily intended to be a plain English education piece for new workers in the industry: the outdoor sector has a high proportion of young, temporary and/or vulnerable workers and these workers need to be educated and cared for by our industry to ensure that they have long and viable careers in the sector.

If you are a new employee in the sector: Welcome! This will be a whirlwind overview of the “need to know” stuff that employers are required by law to tell you, but hopefully I'll cover some insider tips about your rights so that you don't get swindled by a dodgy operator. Having said that, there are also a lot of great operators in the sector who genuinely try to do the right thing – if you aren’t sure if something is right, then ask! I hope this paper helps you on that journey.

Please note:

• I don't have any formal qualifications on this subject

• This document is not a substitute for a comprehensive reading of the legislation. If you are experiencing an issue in your workplace then seek external help.

My interest in presenting this information

In my employment over the years I have learned a lot of lessons the hard way. I have been ripped off, exposed to some pretty significant risks, and had a hard time chasing some money. In short, I don't want you to have those same painful and costly experiences.

Also, I have a firm belief that it is only when all employees in our industry are getting paid what they deserve, then we will see a huge lift in the professionalism of our industry and the longevity of employees in the sector all around.

But none of us can get better pay and conditions if there are people out there willing to be paid less than minimum wage, to settle for bad conditions, and to undercut the whole industry.

I believe that is only through education that this will change.

A disclaimer

1. as far as I know all of this information is up to date as of February 2025 (I subscribe to various information sources so I am kept abreast of this stuff) but some laws (or other details) may have changed. (If you see an error, please let me know!)

2. Most of this is applicable right across Australia, but some of it is specific to NSW – so if you are being employed in other states you might find there are some slight differences and you’ll need to do a little bit of homework.

3. If you are being employed by the government (state or federal) then you may be employed under some special conditions that are not covered here. I recommend you do your own additional research.

4. If you are being employed by a foreign entity or do the bulk of your work in other countries or at sea, beware! We are very fortunate to have the workplace relations framework and WHS legislation that we have in Australia. If you are working offshore or for a foreign company then you will need to do your own additional research as much of the content here may not apply.

(Please use the menu at the top of the page to navigate to the topics.)