Make a role redundant in Australia, the right way.
Answer a few questions and the toolkit builds your full evidence pack as you go — the exact figures, the letters and the records that prove you followed a proper process.
NSW · VIC · QLD · WA · SA · TAS · ACT · NT — every state & territory, grounded in the NES & modern awards.
The exact numbers and rules that apply — worked out for your situation and jurisdiction.
The letters, records and decision — drafted for your situation, ready to send. Not a checklist.
Save your plan, tick off each step with dates and evidence — proof you ran a proper process.
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How to make a role redundant in Australia — the right process for employers
Making a position redundant is a legal process, not just a payment. Get the steps out of order — most commonly, deciding before you consult — and even a genuine redundancy can become an unfair dismissal. This free AI toolkit walks you through a compliant redundancy for your exact situation and builds the evidence pack — the letters, records and figures — that shows you followed the process.
The redundancy process, step by step
- Business case — record the operational reason the role is no longer needed (about the role, not the person).
- Coverage — your state, whether you’re in the national or WA state system, your head count, and any award or agreement.
- Selection — if cutting some of several similar roles, set objective criteria before names.
- Consultation — tell the employee in writing before any decision, and genuinely invite a response.
- Consideration — weigh what they raise, and record it.
- Redeployment — check for other suitable work, including work done by contractors (Helensburgh Coal v Bartley [2025] HCA 29).
- Decision — decide only after consultation and the redeployment check.
- Notice & final pay — written notice, then notice pay, redundancy pay, leave and long service leave.
Redundancy pay in Australia (NES minimum)
Minimum redundancy pay under the National Employment Standards, by years of continuous service. Your award, enterprise agreement or contract can require more.
| Continuous service | Redundancy pay |
|---|---|
| Less than 1 year | Nil |
| 1 year | 4 weeks |
| 2 years | 6 weeks |
| 3 years | 7 weeks |
| 4 years | 8 weeks |
| 5 years | 10 weeks |
| 6 years | 11 weeks |
| 7 years | 13 weeks |
| 8 years | 14 weeks |
| 9 years | 16 weeks |
| 10 years or more | 12 weeks |
Note: the entitlement drops to 12 weeks at 10+ years — this is correct under s119 of the Fair Work Act. Small businesses (fewer than 15 employees) are exempt from redundancy pay, but must still give notice and run a genuine process.
Notice periods (NES minimum)
| Continuous service | Minimum notice |
|---|---|
| 1 year or less | 1 week |
| 1 to 3 years | 2 weeks |
| 3 to 5 years | 3 weeks |
| More than 5 years | 4 weeks |
Add 1 extra week if the employee is 45 or older with at least 2 years’ service.
Redundancy by state & territory
Redundancy pay, notice and the genuine-redundancy test are national. Long service leave on termination differs by state — see your jurisdiction:
Common questions
What makes a redundancy “genuine”?
The role must no longer be required for operational reasons, you must have complied with any consultation obligation in the award or agreement, and it must not have been reasonable to redeploy the person. Fail any of these and it can be an unfair dismissal even if the pay is right.
Do small businesses pay redundancy?
A small business employer (fewer than 15 employees) is exempt from NES redundancy pay — but still must give notice, consult, consider redeployment and run a genuine redundancy.
Can I make someone redundant to remove a poor performer?
No. If the real reason is performance, conduct or a protected attribute, it isn’t a genuine redundancy and exposes you to unfair-dismissal and general-protections claims. That’s a separate process — get advice.
When do I consult?
Before the decision is final. “We’ve decided, here’s your letter” is not consultation and is the most common reason employers lose these cases.
How much redundancy pay do I have to pay?
The NES minimum runs from 4 weeks’ pay at 1–2 years’ service up to 12 weeks at 10+ years (see the table above). Your award, enterprise agreement or contract may require more, and small businesses under 15 employees are exempt from the NES amount. It’s paid on the base rate for ordinary hours.
Do I have to offer redeployment?
Yes — a redundancy isn’t “genuine” if it would have been reasonable to redeploy the employee elsewhere in your business or an associated entity. You must genuinely look, including at work being done by contractors (Helensburgh Coal v Bartley [2025] HCA 29), and record what you found.
Can I make a role redundant while the person is on parental leave?
You can, but employees on parental leave have a right to be consulted and offered any suitable available vacancy in priority. Getting this wrong risks a general-protections or discrimination claim on top of unfair dismissal — run the full process and get advice.
Is it a redundancy or just a termination?
It’s a redundancy only when the role is no longer required for operational reasons. If the real driver is the person — performance, conduct or a protected attribute — it isn’t genuine, and dressing it up as redundancy is where employers get caught.