Fair Work compliance
Intern Gateway takes workplace law seriously. Every placement we arrange is structured with the Fair Work Ombudsman’s guidelines on unpaid work experience firmly in mind, so both our students and our host employers can be confident the arrangement is lawful from day one.
When is unpaid work experience lawful?
Under the Fair Work Act 2009, whether an unpaid arrangement is lawful comes down to one core question: is there an employment relationship? If a genuine employment relationship exists, the person is entitled to be paid — regardless of what the arrangement is called.
Most of the placements we coordinate are vocational placements — a specific category the Fair Work Act recognises as lawfully unpaid, provided:
- There is no entitlement to payment for the work
- The placement is a required part of an accredited education or training course
- That course is offered by an authorised provider — a university, TAFE, or registered training organisation
Because we work directly with universities and their Work Integrated Learning (WIL) programs, the placements we arrange are built around this framework from the outset — not retrofitted to fit it after the fact.
Our commitment to host employers and students
- We confirm a placement’s vocational basis with the relevant university or course provider before it goes ahead
- We brief host employers on what a lawful vocational placement does and doesn’t involve
- We stay current with Fair Work Ombudsman guidance and update our processes when that guidance changes
For the official rules, visit the Fair Work Ombudsman directly — the information on this page is a summary, not a substitute for their guidance.
Inclusion and diversity
Intern Gateway welcomes students, graduates, and host employers from all backgrounds. We don’t tolerate discrimination on the basis of ethnicity, disability, religion, age, gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation — in our own team, or in the placements we arrange.
