Queensland Consolidated Acts

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACT 2016 - SECT 315

315 Employees to whom this part does not apply

(1) Section 316 does not apply to any of the following—

(a) an employee during the first 3 months of employment with an employer (the
"probationary period" ), unless the employee and employer agree in writing that the employee serve—

(i) a period of probation that is shorter than the probationary period; or

(ii) no period of probation; or

(b) an employee serving a period of probation that is longer than the probationary period, if the period decided, by written agreement between the employee and employer before the employment started, is a reasonable period having regard to the nature and circumstances of the employment;

(c) a short term casual employee;

(d) an employee engaged for a specific period or task, unless—

(i) the main purpose of engaging the employee in that way is, or was at the time of the employee’s engagement, to avoid the employer’s obligations under division 2 ; or

(ii) the employee is participating in a labour market program and is dismissed before the period ends or the task is complete;

(e) an employee—

(i) who is not employed under an industrial instrument; and

(ii) who is not a public service officer employed on tenure under the Public Sector Act 2022 ; and

(iii) whose annual wages immediately before the dismissal are equal to or more than the amount of the high income threshold under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cwlth) , section 333 .

(2) Subsection (3) applies in deciding—

(a) the probationary period for subsection (1) (a) ; or

(b) whether an employee is a short term casual employee for subsections (1) (c) and (9) .

(3) Periods of employment with a former employer that are taken to be service with a new employer because of section 132 must be taken into account.

(4) Division 3 does not apply to—

(a) a casual employee; or

(b) an employee engaged by the hour or day;

(c) an employee engaged for a specific period or task; or

(d) an employee during the first 3 months of employment with an employer (the
"probationary period" ) unless the employee and employer agree in writing that the employee serve—

(i) a period of probation that is shorter than the probationary period; or

(ii) no period of probation; or

(e) an employee serving a period of probation that is longer than the probationary period if the period decided, by written agreement between the employee and employer before the employment started, is a reasonable period having regard to the nature and circumstances of the employment; or

(f) an employee—

(i) who is not employed under an industrial instrument; and

(ii) who is not a public service officer employed on tenure under the Public Sector Act 2022 ; and

(iii) whose annual wages immediately before the dismissal are equal to or more than the amount of the high income threshold under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cwlth) , section 333 .

(5) Division 3 does not apply to an employee with less than 1 year of continuous service.

(6) A regulation may exclude particular employees from the operation of particular provisions of this part.

(7) Without limiting subsection (6) , the regulation may identify as a class of employees the employees whose wages or salary immediately before dismissal was more than an amount, or an amount worked out in a way, prescribed by the regulation.

(8) Divisions 3 to 5 do not apply to an employee participating in a labour market program.

(9) In this section—

"short term casual employee" means a casual employee, other than a casual employee who—

(a) is engaged—

(i) by a particular employer on a regular and systematic basis; and

(ii) for several periods of employment during a period of at least 6 months; and

(b) apart from the employer’s decision not to offer the person further employment, had a reasonable expectation of further employment by the employer.