Fair Work Act

Employment in the Northern Territory Public Sector (NTPS) is governed by:

• Northern Territory and
• Commonwealth legislation.

The main laws are the:

• Public Sector Employment and Management Act 1993 and
• Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth).

What the Act includes

The Fair Work Act 2009 governs:

• all national system employers and employees
• Commissioner for Public Employment
• NTPS employees.

It provides a legislative ‘safety net’ of entitlements through a system of modern awards and sets minimum employment conditions called the National Employment Standards.

Other elements of the Act relevant to the NTPS are:

• a system for making and approving enterprise agreements
• the Fair Work Commission a body which:
  • approves enterprise agreements/awards
  • hears applications for unfair dismissal and adverse action claims, and applications for transfer of business or dispute resolution
• the Fair Work Ombudsman a body which:
• promotes and monitors compliance with the Fair Work Act 2009.

NTPS enterprise agreements and the NTPS Enterprise Award 2016 are made under the Fair Work Act 2009.