Over the last 15 years there has been a steady rise in the use of independent contractors by business in regulating their affairs. Independent contractors typically work through a corporate structure and or as a sole proprietor and utilise an ABN to generate their invoices. Independent contractors typically work in the Accounting, IT, Trades and Transport Industries.

What protection is afforded to independent contractors ?

Nationally there is the Independent Contractors Act 2006 which allows contractors to have written contractual terms (e,g goodwill, restraint of trade , termination) deemed to be unfair.  However  this Act has proven to be very unworkable and in the last 4 years there has only been a handful of judgments.

Independent Contractors can now  access the General Protection Orders regime of the Fair Work Act when they believe there has been breach of a workplace law e.g  safety, workplace bullying , discrimination. This is a growing area of the law and independent contractors can gain access to the Federal Courts where   they can plead further heads of damages,  e.g misleading and deceptive conduct, reasonable notice claims.

A traditional area of the law Independent Contractors can access are reasonable notice claims which are programmed through the local and state court systems. Basically reasonable notice claims infer the longer a independent contractor  or even employee has worked for a business the longer the period of notice on termination. For example if you have been an independent contractor for over 7 years and your contract is terminated your notice may vary anywhere between 2 – 4 months of paid notice.

If you are an Independent Contractor and require any further assistance please do not hesitate to contact Connect Legal and Mr. Jake Boghossian.