Work experience and internships

Unpaid internships, work experience or similar arrangements must be genuine and must comply with the Fair Work Act 2009.

The issue with unpaid work arrangements is that there is often a likelihood that an employment relationship may exist, which consequently entitles the worker to be paid minimum wages and other employee entitlements under the relevant laws, awards or agreement. 

Vocational work

Vocational work arrangements are often a mandatory requirement for training or education courses. If a person is deemed to be a vocational worker, the person will not be entitled to receive payment. While unpaid work can be considered legitimate for educational purposes, such arrangements should only be entered into where no employment relationship exists. The Fair Work Ombudsman explains that a vocational placement is defined as one that meets all of the following requirements:

• It is undertaken as a requirement of an Australian-based education or training course.
• It is authorised under a law or an administrative arrangement of the Commonwealth, state or territory.
• It is undertaken with an employer for which a person is not entitled to be paid any remuneration.

Example 1

Erin is studying an architectural degree. In order to complete the degree, there is a requirement to undertake four weeks of vocational work experience with a registered architect. The university and architectural practice have an arrangement for student placements and Erin understands that this work experience is part of the training requirements to complete the degree – as such she will not be paid. These arrangements would meet the definition of vocational work under the Fair Work Act 2009, and therefore she would not be considered an employee under the Act. In such arrangements, it is usually the training or education organisation that would cover the insurance for this student attending the workplace.

Insurance cover

Note - School aged or university students undertaking work-experience placement may not be covered by your workers compensation insurance in the event of an injury. While some education providers (schools, colleges and universities) provide insurance for students during placement, practices are encouraged to contact their state/territory workers compensation body and/or insurance provider and the student’s education provider to confirm, prior to placement commencement. If they are not covered, you should discuss other options with your insurer. 

Back to top

Genuine unpaid work experience and internships

Generally, if a worker is engaged as part of an authorised educational training course to allow a student to observe and undertake practical on-the-job experience, this is typically deemed to be a genuine unpaid education arrangement. However, if a person is performing productive activities or if their activity benefits the employer, they would be considered an employee under the Act and entitled to be paid the applicable Award rate. To determine whether a person is a bona fide work-experience person, Fair Work considers the following factors to be indicators:

• Purpose of the arrangement: was it to provide work experience to the person or was it to get the person to do work to assist with the business outputs and productivity?
• Length of time: generally, the longer the period of the placement, the more likely the person is really deemed to be an employee.
• The person’s obligations in the workplace: although the person may do some productive activities during a placement, they are less likely to be considered an employee if there is no expectation or requirement of productivity in the workplace.
• Who benefits from the arrangement?: the main benefit of a genuine work placement or internship should flow to the person doing the placement. If a business is gaining a significant benefit as a result of engaging the person, this may indicate that an employment relationship has been formed. Unpaid work-experience programs are less likely to involve employment if they are primarily observational.
• Placements entered into through universities or vocational training organisations: placements of this type are unlikely to be deemed employment relationships.

Example 2

A private architect practice was approached by Simon, a keen school student who wanted to engage in some work experience because he is thinking of starting a career in architecture. The employer agreed to take on Simon as a work-experience person, arranging for him to come into the practice for a few hours in the afternoon, two days a week. Simon started off observing in the practice, but has since got a good understanding of how the practice works, and has consequently been assisting in basic tasks and duties. The employer finds this very useful to have extra help available. Simon has been coming in regularly for the past few months and is becoming part of the team. The arrangement was made directly between Simon and the employer, not through Simon’s school. Such arrangements should be handled with caution. Despite the request for work experience coming from Simon and he is happy for it to be unpaid, when assessing the situation against the above indicators, it is likely that an employment relationship exists. This then indicates a requirement to pay the award rate of pay and entitlements to Simon.

Back to top

Volunteer work

Volunteer work is common in the not-for-profit sector, usually performed in charities, community-service organisations, clubs, and sport and recreation groups. Genuine volunteers are not employees, and therefore do not need to be paid. However, an employer needs to assess whether an employment relationship exists between the two parties by assessing all the relevant factors that have been mentioned above. For further information see the Volunteering Australia website.

Back to top

Trial work

It is common for employers to request job candidates to perform trial work in the business before offering employment to determine the candidate's suitability. If it is expected that the person will be performing productive activities, the person would be deemed to be an employee, and entitled to be paid during that period.

Similarly, probationary employees are entitled to any applicable employee entitlements and payment for all hours worked, like all other employees. Despite being a probationary employee, the person will still accrue and have access to entitlements such as annual leave, personal/carer's leave, compassionate leave, public holidays and other entitlements.

Back to top

This note has been updated in accordance with the Institute’s Work Experience and Internship Policy 2017. 

Further reading

See also Fair Work's pages on Work experience and internships and Unpaid work pages for updates.