Fair Work Act. Australia
38 hours; and
(ii) the employee’s ordinary hours of work in a week.
(2) The agreed averaging arrangement may provide for average weekly hours that exceed the hours referred to in paragraph (1)(a) or (b) if the excess hours are reasonable for the purposes of subsection 62(1).
Note: Hours in excess of the hours referred to in paragraph (1)(a) or (b) that are worked in a week in accordance with an agreed averaging arrangement (whether the arrangement complies with subsection (1) or (2)) will be treated as additional hours for the purposes of section 62. The averaging arrangement will be relevant in determining whether the additional hours are reasonable (see paragraph 62(3)(i)).
Division 4—Requests for flexible working arrangements
65 Requests for flexible working arrangements
Employee may request change in working arrangements
(1) An employee who is a parent, or has responsibility for the care, of a child may request the employer for a change in working arrangements to assist the employee to care for the child if the child:
(a) is under school age; or
(b) is under 18 and has a disability.
Note: Examples of changes in working arrangements include changes in hours of work, changes in patterns of work and changes in location of work.
(2) The employee is not entitled to make the request unless:
(a) for an employee other than a casual employee — the employee has completed at least 12 months of continuous service with the employer immediately before making the request; or
(b) for a casual employee — the employee:
(i) is a long term casual employee of the employer immediately before making the request; and
(ii) has a reasonable expectation of continuing employment by the employer on a regular and systematic basis.
Formal requirements
(3) The request must:
(a) be in writing; and
(b) set out details of the change sought and of the reasons for the change.
Agreeing to the request
(4) The employer must give the employee a written response to the request within 21 days, stating whether the employer grants or refuses the request.
(5) The employer may refuse the request only on reasonable business grounds.
(6) If the employer refuses the request, the written response under subsection (4) must include details of the reasons for the refusal.
66 State and Territory laws that are not excluded
This Act is not intended to apply to the exclusion of laws of a State or Territory that provide employee entitlements in relation to flexible working arrangements, to the extent that those entitlements are more beneficial to employees than the entitlements under this Division.
Division 5—Parental leave and related entitlements
Subdivision A — General
67 General rule — employee must have completed at least 12 months of service
Employees other than casual employees
(1) An employee, other than a casual employee, is not entitled to leave under this Division (other than unpaid pre-adoption leave) unless the employee has, or will have, completed at least 12 months of continuous service with the employer immediately before the date that applies under subsection (3).
Casual employees
(2) A casual employee, is not entitled to leave (other than unpaid pre-adoption leave) under this Division unless:
(a) the employee is, or will be, a long term casual employee of the employer immediately before the date that applies under subsection (3); and
(b) but for:
(i) the birth or expected birth of the child; or
(ii) the placement or the expected placement of the child; or
(iii) if the employee is taking a period of unpaid parental leave that starts under subsection 71(6) or paragraph 72(3)(b) or 72(4)(b) — the taking of the leave;
the employee would have a reasonable expectation of continuing employment by the employer on a regular and systematic basis.
Date at which employee must have completed 12 months of service
(3) For the purpose of subsections (1) and (2), the date that applies is:
(a) unless paragraph (b) or (c) applies:
(i) if the leave is birth-related leave — the date of birth, or the expected date of birth, of the child; or
(ii) if the leave is adoption-related leave — the day of placement, or the expected day of placement, of the child; or
(b) for an employee taking a period of unpaid parental leave that is to start within 12 months after the birth or placement of the child under subsection 71(6) — the date on which the employee’s period of leave is to start; or
(c) for a member of an employee couple taking a period of unpaid parental leave that is to start under paragraph 72(3)(b) or 72(4)(b) after the period of unpaid parental leave of the other member of the employee couple — the date on which the employee’s period of leave is to start.
Meaning of birth-related leave
(4) Birth-related leave means leave of either of the following kinds:
(a) unpaid parental leave taken in association with the birth of a child (see section 70);
(b) unpaid special maternity leave (see section 80).
Meaning of adoption-related leave
(5) Adoption-related leave means leave of either of the following kinds:
(a) unpaid parental leave taken in association with the placement of a child for adoption (see section 70);
(b) unpaid pre-adoption leave (see section 85).
Meaning of day of placement
(6) The day of placement, in relation to the adoption of a child by an employee, means the earlier of the following days:
(a) the day on which the employee first takes custody of the child for the adoption;
(b) the day on which the employee starts any travel that is reasonably necessary to take custody of the child for the adoption.
68 General rule for adoption-related leave — child must be under 16 etc.
An employee is not entitled to adoption-related leave unless the child that is, or is to be, placed with the employee for adoption:
(a) is, or will be, under 16 as at the day of placement, or the expected day of placement, of the child; and
(b) has not, or will not have, lived continuously with the employee for a period of 6 months or more as at the day of placement, or the expected day of placement, of the child; and
(c) is not (otherwise than because of the adoption) a child of the employee or the employee’s spouse or de facto partner.
69 Transfer of employment situations in which employee is entitled to continue on leave etc.
(1) If:
(a) there is a transfer of employment in relation to an employee; and
(b) the employee has already started a period of leave under this Division when his or her employment with the first