A safety net of legislated minimum employment standards set out in Part 2-2 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FW Act).

The NES relate to:

The NES apply to all national system employees (except in some cases casuals) at all times, whether as a direct entitlement or as a minimum standard underpinning entitlements under a modern award, enterprise agreement or contract of employment.

Part 6-3 of the FW Act extends the NES entitlements to parental leave and related entitlements (Division 5 of Part 2-2, FW Act) and to notice of termination or payment in lieu of notice (Subdivision A of Division 11 of Part 2-2, FW Act) to non-national system employees. For the purposes of these entitlements, employee has its ordinary meaning (section 742, FW Act). For more information, see Practice note, Unpaid parental leave: Extension to non-national system employees and employers.

The NES cannot be displaced, even by the terms of a contract of employment, modern award or enterprise agreement. For example, employers cannot contract out of their obligation to provide personal or carer's leave in accordance with the NES. However, this does not prevent an employer and employee from agreeing to, or a modern award or enterprise agreement providing for, a more generous entitlement.

For guidance on potential avenues for resolving NES disputes, see Practice note, NES: Civil remedies and dispute resolution.