Compliance Training For Small Business

Compliance training for small business is the workplace training a smaller Australian employer uses to meet its legal obligations and reduce risk, covering areas such as work health and safety, sexual harassment prevention, bullying, discrimination and privacy. The obligations do not shrink much with headcount. A business with eight staff carries most of the same duties as one with 800.

Some rules do change below 15 employees. The Fair Work Act treats an employer with fewer than 15 employees as a small business employer, which affects redundancy pay, the unfair dismissal qualifying period and access to the Small Business Fair Dismissal Code. Since 1 January 2025, intentional underpayment of wages can be a criminal offence, and a small business employer who follows the Voluntary Small Business Wage Compliance Code will not be referred by the Fair Work Ombudsman for criminal prosecution. Other duties apply to every employer. The positive duty in the Sex Discrimination Act binds sole traders and small businesses just as it binds large ones, though the steps expected of a business are proportionate to its size and resources.

Posts tagged here look at what a lean team should train on first, how to keep training records that stand up to scrutiny, and how to run training without pulling people off the floor for days. For a small team the practical question is rarely what the law says. It is who owns the follow-up when someone does not finish a module. Common starting points are work health and safety, sexual harassment prevention and equal employment opportunity, backed by workplace policies your people have read and acknowledged. The Fair Work Ombudsman’s small business best practice guide is a solid reference for the employment law side.

This page is general information, not legal advice. Requirements vary by state and territory and change over time. To see what a small team can realistically put in place, browse Sentrient’s online compliance training courses.