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Unpaid Work

Unpaid work can take on different forms - including vocational placements, unpaid internships, unpaid work experience and unpaid trials. Unpaid work arrangements can be entered into for a number of reasons. These include:

  • to give a person experience in a job or industry

  • to test a person's job skills

  • to volunteer time and effort to a not-for-profit organisation.

These arrangements can be initiated by employers, the person wanting the work or experience, or education/training institutions.

This resource from the Fair Work Ombudsman delves into this in more detail.

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More about the authors

The Australian Research Council is an Australian Government Independent Body that supports the research sector to produce excellent and impactful outcomes for Australia’s economic, social, environmental and cultural benefit.

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