Consultation is both a legal requirement and an operational lever. This module shows you when the duty is triggered — rosters, restructures, redundancies, transfers, WHS impacts — and how to run and evidence a consultation process that holds up.
In the Fair Work system, consultation obligations commonly arise when you make a definite decision about a major workplace change likely to have a significant effect on employees, or when changing regular rosters or ordinary hours of work. Enterprise agreements must include a consultation term covering these scenarios, and a model term applies if a compliant term is absent. Consultation is also part of what makes a redundancy “genuine”. In South Australia, separate WHS duties to consult, cooperate and coordinate apply whenever a change affects workers’ health and safety. Your operating model: identify the trigger, design a compliant process, document and evidence it, and integrate it into structured change management.
Consultation duties usually come from one or more of four layers. Before any change, confirm which apply to the affected group — awards and EAs can set additional rules on notice and how rosters are displayed.
Must include a consultation term covering major workplace change likely to have a significant effect on employees and changes to regular rosters or ordinary hours — and must allow employee representation for consultation.
Generally include consultation clauses for major change and for changes to rosters/hours.
If an EA lacks a consultation term (or contains an objectionable emergency management term), the model consultation term is taken to be part of the agreement. From February 2025 the FWC set the model term in the Fair Work (Model Terms) Determination 2025 (Schedule 2).
Separate duties to consult workers on health and safety matters — distinct from Fair Work consultation.
What consultation means: asking for and considering employees’ views when making decisions. You retain the right to make the final decision — but employees must have a genuine opportunity to contribute before it is finalised. Done well, it buys better decision quality, faster implementation and a lower dispute load.
Before changing an employee’s regular roster or ordinary hours of work, you must discuss the change first: provide information about what is changing and when, invite views on the impact — including family and caring responsibilities — and consider those views before finalising.
Major workplace change is any change to the business that will affect employees in a significant way — different working hours, duties, work locations or redundancies. In practice that includes role redesign that changes duties, classification or required skills; relocation or site closure; technology change that alters how work is performed or reduces headcount; restructures that change reporting lines or staffing profile; and any change likely to lead to redundancy, redeployment or significant changes in hours.
Redundancy raises the stakes: a redundancy is “genuine” only when, among other things, you followed the consultation requirements in the relevant award or enterprise agreement — and all awards and EAs have a consultation process for major workplace changes such as redundancies. Run redeployment assessment as a parallel track; consultation often surfaces viable redeployment options. Where 15 or more employees are made redundant, additional considerations apply — treat it as a programme with staged consultation, a central evidence file and aligned communications.
A transfer of business occurs when an employee starts with the new employer within 3 months, performs the same or nearly the same duties, and there is a connection between the old and new employers — sale of assets, associated entities, outsourcing or insourcing. In many transfers, employees remain covered by the same instrument as before, including enterprise agreements that continue until terminated or replaced — which shapes your consultation and rostering rules post-transfer. The new employer must recognise service for many entitlements (with exceptions for some), and notice obligations may sit with the old employer depending on structure. Plan communications early: transfers create anxiety, and clarity on what is and isn’t changing reduces disputes and exits.
WHS consultation is triggered when change affects health and safety risks — new equipment or processes, changed staffing levels or work location — and by job design or organisational change that affects workload, role clarity and supervision. In shared workplaces and supply chains (labour hire, contractors, joint ventures) you must also cooperate and coordinate with other duty holders. Run Fair Work and WHS consultation as one integrated programme: same meetings, different documentation tags, with WHS risk controls considered as part of the change options.
In SA, an approved Code of Practice on WHS consultation, cooperation and coordination sets the practical standard: share information, give workers a reasonable opportunity to express views, take views into account, and advise outcomes. SafeWork SA’s Code on managing psychosocial hazards includes a dedicated consultation section — and Safe Work Australia identifies poor organisational change management as a psychosocial hazard where change is poorly planned, communicated, supported or managed, including where workers are not consulted or their views are not genuinely considered. Consultation that is only “perfunctory advice” can increase psychosocial risk and erode trust.
Translate “consult” into a repeatable workflow: define the change (scope, who is affected, decisions required) → identify obligations (award/EA clauses, FW Act requirements, WHS needs) → build the plan (stakeholders, forums, timing, materials, reps/delegates) → run consultation (provide information, invite views, discuss mitigations, document everything) → decide and implement (demonstrate consideration of feedback) → review (track outcomes, handle disputes, adjust controls).
Fast readiness scan for any change: Is the decision definite? Does it touch rosters/hours? Is it major change likely to significantly affect employees? Does it create redundancy risk? Does it alter WHS risks? Do you share duties with other PCBUs? Do you have the complete evidence pack? A “yes” anywhere means a consultation workstream starts now.
Currency & care. General information for practitioners, not legal advice. Current as at 27 February 2026 (Adelaide, South Australia); validate thresholds, dates and instruments against the primary sources above before relying on them. Federal (national system) lens with South Australian overlays noted where relevant.
The Fundamentals is one series inside The People Practice. If you’d like help turning these controls into your operating rhythm, let’s talk.
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