The National Employment Standards for arts workers.

This article is for informational purposes and general commentary only. It does not constitute legal advice and does not create a solicitor-client relationship.

Arts work is casual, short and mobile. A performer might do a three-week season, a stagehand a single load-in, a musician a run of weekend gigs. That pattern makes it easy to assume the usual workplace rules do not apply. They do. Every employee in the national workplace system, from the full-time company manager to the casual usher, has a set of minimum entitlements set by the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). They are called the National Employment Standards, and they are the legal floor. This note sets out the eleven standards, explains which of them a casual arts worker gets, and shows what to do when an employer does not meet them.

What are the National Employment Standards?

The National Employment Standards, or NES, are eleven minimum entitlements that apply to all employees covered by the national workplace system. Almost all private-sector employees in Australia are in that system. The eleven standards are: a maximum of 38 ordinary weekly hours plus reasonable additional hours; the right of eligible employees to request flexible working arrangements; offers and requests to convert from casual to permanent employment; parental leave; paid annual leave; paid personal and carer's leave, compassionate leave, and paid family and domestic violence leave; community service leave; long service leave; public holidays; notice of termination and redundancy pay; and the right to disconnect outside working hours.

These are minimums. An award such as the Live Performance Award 2020, an enterprise agreement, or an individual contract can add to the NES and give a worker more. None of them can give less. A clause in a contract that tries to sign away an NES entitlement has no effect, because the standard sits above the contract. The way the award builds on this floor is set out in the note on the Live Performance Award 2020.

Do the National Employment Standards apply to casual arts workers?

Yes, but casuals get a reduced set. A casual employee is still covered by the NES, and receives a casual loading, usually 25 per cent under the award, in place of some of the entitlements a permanent employee gets. So a casual does not get paid annual leave, paid personal and carer's leave, or notice of termination and redundancy pay in the ordinary way. The loading is meant to compensate for that.

A casual does keep a real set of NES rights. A casual is entitled to paid family and domestic violence leave, to unpaid carer's leave and compassionate leave, to community service leave, to the right to disconnect, and to the casual conversion and employee-choice pathway to permanent work. Long service leave, which runs under separate state and territory laws, can also accrue for long-serving casuals. So the casual singer who works for the same company for years is not outside the system. How casual, fixed-term and seasonal engagements are structured is covered in the note on casual, fixed-term and seasonal engagement.

What leave are you entitled to under the NES?

A permanent full-time employee gets four weeks of paid annual leave a year, and five weeks if they are a shift worker who meets the definition. That accrues from the first day and is paid out on termination. Part-time employees get the same on a pro-rata basis. Paid personal and carer's leave runs at ten days a year for a full-timer, again pro-rata for part-timers, and covers a worker's own illness or caring for an immediate family or household member. Compassionate leave is two days for each occasion, such as the death or serious illness of a family member.

Paid family and domestic violence leave is ten days a year, and it is available in full to every employee, including casuals, from the first day of work. It does not accrue and does not carry over. Parental leave gives an employee up to twelve months of unpaid leave for the birth or adoption of a child, with a right to request a further twelve months, for employees who have completed twelve months of continuous service. Community service leave covers activities such as jury duty and voluntary emergency work. These are floors. An enterprise agreement or a generous employer can offer more.

What is the right to disconnect?

The right to disconnect is the newest of the eleven standards. It lets an employee refuse to monitor, read or respond to contact from an employer, or from a third party such as a client, outside the employee's working hours, unless the refusal is unreasonable. Whether a refusal is unreasonable depends on the reason for the contact, how it is made, the level of disruption, and whether the employee is paid to be available. An employer must not take adverse action against a worker for reasonably exercising the right.

It commenced in stages. For employers other than small business employers it started on 26 August 2024. For small business employers, meaning those with fewer than 15 employees, it started on 26 August 2025. Much of the arts sector runs on small companies and casual crews, so for many arts workers the right became live in August 2025. It has a practical edge in an industry where the show, the venue and the run sheet do not keep office hours, and where a producer may message a performer late at night about tomorrow's call.

Can an award or contract take away a National Employment Standard?

No. The NES are a floor that awards, enterprise agreements and individual contracts sit above. An instrument can improve on a standard, but a term that provides less than the NES, or tries to exclude a standard, has no effect to that extent. So a contract that says a performer waives annual leave, or that the right to disconnect does not apply, does not work. The entitlement stands despite the words on the page.

There is one common trap. The NES protect employees, not independent contractors. A genuine independent contractor gets none of these standards, because they are not an employee at all. That is why the line between employee and contractor decides so much in the arts, where the same person can be engaged either way depending on the arrangement. If a worker who is really an employee is labelled a contractor, they can be missing every entitlement in this note. How that line is drawn is set out in the note on how performing artists are classified.

What is the Fair Work Information Statement?

Employers must give every new employee a copy of the Fair Work Information Statement before, or as soon as practicable after, the employee starts. It sets out the NES and other key rights in plain terms. Casual employees must also be given the Casual Employment Information Statement, which explains the casual definition, the casual loading and the pathway to permanent work. Employees on a fixed-term contract must be given the Fixed Term Contract Information Statement. These statements are free and published by the Fair Work Ombudsman.

The statements matter for arts workers because so many engagements are casual or fixed-term and are papered quickly, often with a short email rather than a full contract. Being handed the right statement is a sign that the employer is treating the engagement as employment and applying the standards. Not being given one is a prompt to ask which basis you are engaged on.

What can you do if your NES entitlements are not met?

Start by working out whether you are an employee or a contractor, because only employees have NES rights. If you are an employee and a standard has not been met, for example annual leave not paid out at the end of a season, or no notice on termination, the first step is often to raise it with the employer in writing and ask for it to be fixed. Many shortfalls are errors rather than deliberate, and a clear request with the figures set out will resolve them.

If that does not work, the Fair Work Ombudsman can help. It can give information, and it can investigate and enforce underpayments and breaches of the NES. Unpaid entitlements can also be recovered as a debt in the Fair Work Commission's and the courts' processes, including the small-claims procedure for smaller amounts. A union such as the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance can act for members. There are time limits, so a worker who is owed money should act rather than wait. Where the shortfall is unpaid wages or a broader underpayment, the options are set out in the note on wage theft and underpayment in the arts.

Frequently asked.

What are the 11 National Employment Standards?

They are the minimum entitlements under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth): maximum weekly hours of 38 plus reasonable additional hours; requests for flexible working arrangements; casual conversion to permanent employment; parental leave; paid annual leave; paid personal and carer's leave, compassionate leave and paid family and domestic violence leave; community service leave; long service leave; public holidays; notice of termination and redundancy pay; and the right to disconnect. They apply to all employees in the national workplace system and cannot be undercut by an award or contract.

Do casual performers and crew get the National Employment Standards?

Yes, but a reduced set. Casuals receive a casual loading, usually 25 per cent under the Live Performance Award 2020, instead of paid annual leave, paid personal and carer's leave, and notice or redundancy pay. Casuals do get paid family and domestic violence leave, unpaid carer's and compassionate leave, community service leave, the right to disconnect, and the pathway to convert to permanent work. Long service leave can also accrue under state law.

How much paid leave am I entitled to under the NES?

A full-time employee gets four weeks of paid annual leave a year, or five for eligible shift workers, and ten days of paid personal and carer's leave. Part-timers get these pro rata. Compassionate leave is two days per occasion. Paid family and domestic violence leave is ten days a year for every employee, including casuals, from the first day. Parental leave is up to twelve months unpaid, with a right to request a further twelve months, after twelve months of service.

What is the right to disconnect and when did it start?

It lets an employee refuse to monitor, read or respond to work contact outside working hours unless the refusal is unreasonable, and it protects the employee from adverse action for doing so. It started on 26 August 2024 for employers other than small business, and on 26 August 2025 for small business employers, meaning those with fewer than 15 employees. Many arts employers are small businesses, so for a lot of arts workers it began in August 2025.

Can my contract or award remove a National Employment Standard?

No. The NES are a legal floor. An award, enterprise agreement or individual contract can give you more than a standard, but cannot give you less, and a term that tries to exclude or reduce a standard has no effect to that extent. The main exception is that the NES protect employees, not genuine independent contractors, who receive none of them.

What can I do if my employer does not meet the NES?

First confirm you are an employee, not a contractor, because only employees have NES rights. Then raise the shortfall with the employer in writing with the figures. If that fails, the Fair Work Ombudsman can investigate and enforce the standards, unpaid entitlements can be recovered through the courts including a small-claims process, and a union such as the MEAA can act for members. Time limits apply, so act promptly.

If you are a performer, producer, venue, or independent practitioner and this raises a question about your own situation, Aaron Kernaghan and the team at Brady & Associates Lawyers can give you tailored guidance. Call 0421 717 019 or contact the firm.

This article is for informational purposes and general commentary only. It does not constitute legal advice and does not create a solicitor-client relationship. It reflects the law in Australia as at 22 September 2026, with a focus on Commonwealth law and New South Wales and ACT practice. The law changes and applies differently to every set of facts. Written by Aaron Kernaghan, Brady & Associates Lawyers.

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