Internship Agreements & Work Experience Confidentiality Agreements

Paid internships

In Australia, while you might call your new hire a “paid intern”, there are strict laws around internships. As a general rule of thumb, a paid internship is to be treated the same way as any employee. On this page where we refer to “paid intern” please note you are hiring an employee and all references to “paid interns” are references to employees.

If the paid intern is full-time, part-time or fixed term, then you will need to provide your intern with an Employment Agreement. If you do not have our Employment Agreement Template, then you will need to use that. When you do use it, you will be able to clarify the nature of the working relationship (i.e. part time or full time) and ensure that if it doesn’t work out, you have a clear path for termination.

If the new hire is likely to be more like a casual employee with varied hours from week to week, then a casual employment agreement may be best.

Unpaid Internships & Work Experience

If you take on unpaid interns or work experience students you need a contract to manage things like confidentiality and protection of your business intellectual property, but as you may be aware this is NOT an employment agreement. 

The law around unpaid interns in Australia is strict and will only allow it if the unpaid intern is a student or vocational placement and there is no employment relationship. Fair Work Australia has fact sheets that help you decide what category the intern will fall under. If you have an employment relationship, you can find our employment agreement template here.

If you engage an unpaid intern or work experience student in an educational or vocational placement in Australia, you should have an unpaid internship agreement in place.

Note: This is a general Unpaid Internship Agreement / Work Experience Agreement for use by Australian businesses and it is not an employment agreement. If you have any questions, please contact us at bossteam@readytobosslegal.com.

What does the Unpaid Internship Agreement Template include?

• A schedule setting out the Business and Intern details, the work commitment and internship description, and other key items;

• Outlines the term of the Internship/ Work Experience;

• Discloses the educational benefits of the Internship (noting this agreement is for an educational or vocational internship only and its sole purpose is for education. 

• Ensures that while some of the tasks the intern undertakes may be productive, training and observation are the key aims of the intern/ business relationship (i.e. it is NOT an employment relationship).

• Confirms there is no promise of a paid employment role once the internship finishes

• Sets out the intern’s requirements

• Ensures the confidentiality and intellectual property of the business are protected.

• Allows either party to end the agreement with notice; and

• Provides indemnity to the business if the intern is negligent or causes damage.

Use of the Unpaid Internship/ Work Experience Agreement

• The details of the Agreement should be completed by the Business and provided to each intern to read and sign before they start their internship; 

• You (the Business) fills in the details in red text to complete it, including your business name and ABN, the state or territory in which you live and details of the intern and internship; 

• It is a general template drafted for Australian laws and does not incorporate any specific arrangements; and

• It is NOT an employment agreement.

What happens when you purchase our Unpaid Internship/ Work Experience Agreement?

1. You will receive a download link to an editable Microsoft Word document (your template) immediately after purchase of the template.

2. Download the template (your access will expire after 24 hours but once you save it on your desktop, it is yours to keep forever)

3. Add your own logo/badge and change the font to personalise your document.

4. Add your information where we have red text indicators and/ or guidance notes. While you can edit the contract, we suggest you don’t edit without legal advice as these templates have been drafted by an experienced lawyer.

5. Your template can be used more than once, however you should be mindful that where a significant amount of time has passed since it was purchased or the law in that area has changed significantly, the template may not be current or up to date with the law.

Note: This is a general template for unpaid internships and work experience If you have any questions, please contact us at bossteam@readytobosslegal.com.

Disclaimer

This template does not provide guidance on the issue of modern award scales and the correct pay rate. Go to the Fair Work Ombudsman site for information and make your own enquiries.

Ready to Boss Legal is a legal publisher. We are not a law firm and you acknowledge that by purchasing, downloading and customising this template, Ready to Boss Legal is not acting as your lawyer or providing you with legal advice.

This template is legal information only and should not substitute for or constitute professional legal advice. We recommend you consult with a lawyer for legal advice, noting Ready to Boss Legal is a legal publisher and not a law firm.

All copyright in this document belongs exclusively to Ready to Boss Legal. We grant you a one use non-exclusive, royalty-free, revocable license to use this document for the purposes of using it in your business or for personal use. However, this document may not be copied, given to a third party, re-sold, reproduced, transmitted electronically or otherwise used in any way in whole or in part for the purpose of commercial gain by you for any purpose that may amount to competition with Ready to Boss Legal.

Related articles: Paid Internships, Unpaid Internships & Work Experience: A Guide for Australian Small Businesses