If you employ people on your farm, full-time, casual, seasonal, or contractors, you're running a workplace. And workplaces in Australia come with a set of legal obligations that most farm operators don't find out about until something goes wrong.
HR policies aren't just corporate paperwork. They're the written record of how your workplace operates. They protect you when an employee makes a complaint. They protect your workers when there's a dispute. And since 2025, the stakes for getting this wrong have gone up significantly.
What changed in 2025
On 1 January 2025, wage theft became a criminal offence in Australia under the Fair Work Act. Intentionally underpaying workers, including failing to pay the correct Award rate, superannuation, or entitlements, can now result in up to 10 years' imprisonment for individuals, or fines of up to $8.25 million for businesses.
Agriculture is one of the industries specifically identified as high-risk for wage theft. Fair Work Inspectors conduct random face-to-face visits to farms to check pay records, time-and-wages documentation, and compliance with Award conditions.
The Respect at Work laws, which came into full enforcement in December 2023, also placed a new obligation on all Australian employers, including sole traders and family farms, to take active steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. The law doesn't just require you to respond to complaints. It requires you to prevent them.
The Fair Work Ombudsman conducts random farm visits. Inspectors check pay records, payslips, Award compliance, and workplace documentation. Having written policies in place, and following them, is part of demonstrating that you run your workplace properly. Source: Fair Work Ombudsman.
Why written policies matter
A policy is worth nothing if it only exists in your head. When an employee makes a complaint about pay, how they were treated, or dismissal, the first question asked is: what was the process, and was it followed?
If you have no written process, you have no defence. If you have a written policy that was followed, you're in a much stronger position.
Under the Small Business Fair Dismissal Code, employers with fewer than 15 employees have some protection in unfair dismissal claims, but only if they can demonstrate they followed a fair process. That process starts with having policies your employees were aware of.
Written policies also make it easier to manage your team day to day. When expectations around leave requests, conduct, and performance are clearly written down, there's less room for misunderstanding, and less chance of a dispute escalating into a formal complaint.
The seven policies every farm needs
These aren't arbitrary. Each one covers an area where farm employers regularly face complaints, Fair Work claims, or compliance issues.
Code of Conduct
Sets out the standards of behaviour expected of everyone in your workplace: employees, managers, contractors. Covers things like honesty, respect, use of farm equipment, and how people are expected to treat each other. This is the foundation everything else sits on. Without it, "that's not how we do things here" has no legal weight.
Grievance Handling
Tells employees how to raise a concern or complaint, and tells you what to do when they do. A grievance policy doesn't stop complaints. It ensures they're handled properly. Without one, a complaint that could have been resolved in a conversation becomes a Fair Work claim that costs significantly more to deal with.
Health, Safety and Wellbeing
Sets out your commitment to keeping people safe, your workers' responsibilities, and the procedures for reporting hazards and incidents. Agriculture has the highest workplace fatality rate of any industry in Australia. A written WHS policy, backed by consistent practice, is one of the key ways you demonstrate your duty of care under the WHS Act.
Leave
Covers how employees request leave, how it's approved, and what the rules are for annual leave, personal leave, carer's leave, and other types of leave under the National Employment Standards. Leave entitlements are set by law, but a leave policy ensures your process is clear and consistent, reducing the chance of a dispute over whether leave was approved or how it was counted.
Performance and Resolution
Explains how performance concerns are managed, from informal conversations to formal warnings, and what the process is if things don't improve. This policy is what protects you if you ever need to dismiss an employee. Without a documented performance process, unfair dismissal claims are hard to defend, regardless of how valid your reasons were.
Privacy
Explains how you collect, store, and handle personal information about employees: payroll data, medical information, emergency contacts, personnel records. The Privacy Act 1988 applies to many farm businesses, and employees have the right to know how their information is managed. This policy is often overlooked and becomes relevant quickly when an employee leaves under difficult circumstances.
Respect at Work
Covers your obligations under the Respect at Work laws, specifically your duty to prevent sexual harassment, sex-based harassment, and hostile workplace environments. Since December 2023, this is not optional. All Australian employers, regardless of size, must take reasonable and proportionate steps to prevent this conduct. A written policy is the starting point for demonstrating you've met that obligation.
Who needs these policies?
If you employ anyone, whether that's a permanent farmhand, a seasonal picker, a labour hire worker, or a contractor you manage day to day, these policies apply to you. The Fair Work Act and the Respect at Work laws cover all businesses in Australia, including sole traders and family operations.
The scale of your operation doesn't change your obligations. It changes how you implement them, and that's exactly why templates written for farming businesses, not corporate offices, are more useful than generic documents downloaded from the internet.
Don't have a Fair Work Information Statement? Every new employee in Australia must be given one before or as soon as possible after starting work. It covers their rights under the National Employment Standards and the Fair Work Act. Download the current version free from the Fair Work Ombudsman website.
The bottom line
Most farm employers are decent people who treat their workers well. But good intentions don't hold up in a Fair Work hearing. Written policies, followed consistently, are what demonstrate that your workplace operates properly, and they're what protect you when someone decides to make a claim.
The time to get these in place is before you need them. If you're not sure what your farm is missing, the Headland Check covers your HR and WHS gaps in under 5 minutes. If your situation is more complex, Guided Support is available.