The state Farm Employees Award was updated by the Western Australian Industrial Relations Commission (WAIRC) in May 2023, with the changes to the WA award effective from 1 July 2023.

Wageline has published a new WA award summary for the Farm Employees Award which incorporates the changes made by the award variation.

The changes to this WA award include:

• new provisions for part time employees, including a requirement for employees and employers to agree in writing on hours of work;
• an updated definition for the Farm Tradesperson classification;
• new provisions enabling employment of trainees;
• changes to the requirements for full time and part time employees to provide notice of termination;
• modernised clauses dealing with record keeping, leave entitlements and public holidays; and 
• other miscellaneous changes to ensure the award does not contain conditions less favourable than those provided by the Minimum Conditions of Employment Act 1993.

The Order of the WAIRC varying the Farm Employees Award, which outlines the changes, is available on the Western Australian Industrial Relations Commission website. The variation to the Farm Employees Award was made as part of a process to update private sector WA awards being undertaken by the WAIRC.