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Probation period
toolkit (Australia)

Work out the dates that matter, run reviews that hold up, and understand what probation legally does (and does not do).

Your numbers

Probation is a contract term. The unfair dismissal clock is set by law, not the contract.
Headcount includes regular casuals. Size sets the minimum employment period: 6 or 12 months.
The dates that matter
 
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The probation review checklist

Work through it in order. Ticks save in your browser.

How long can a probation period be in Australia?

As long as the contract says, commonly 3 to 6 months. But the legally meaningful clock is the Fair Work Act's minimum employment period: 6 months (or 12 months for a small business with fewer than 15 employees) before an employee can access unfair dismissal. A 12-month contractual probation in a 20-person company does not delay unfair dismissal eligibility past 6 months.

How the dates are calculated

The date maths is calendar months from the employment start date: the contractual probation end date from the length you set, and the minimum employment period end date from business size (6 months for employers with 15 or more employees, 12 months for small business). The minimum employment period is the one that controls unfair dismissal eligibility, and extending probation in the contract does not extend it. Two things stay true from day one regardless of either date: general protections (adverse action) claims and discrimination law apply immediately, and the National Employment Standards minimum notice (1 week in the first year) still applies to a probation dismissal. The review checkpoints are structured so that by the decision point you hold documented evidence of performance against clear expectations, which is what a defensible probation decision (either way) looks like. The dates apply to national system employers, which covers most Australian businesses. This is general guidance, not legal advice.

New to the term? Read the plain-English definition of probation periods in the HR Glossary.

Assumptions
  • Applies to national system employers, which covers most Australian businesses. Small business means fewer than 15 employees counted by head, including regular and systematic casuals, at the time of dismissal.
  • Counts calendar months from the start date you enter. Service that counts toward the minimum employment period can include earlier regular and systematic casual work and service with a previous employer in most transfers of business, and the calculator cannot see that history.
  • The contractual date is a management tool with no legal effect on unfair dismissal eligibility. A twelve-month probation clause in a 20-person business does not delay eligibility past six months.
  • General protections claims, discrimination law, sham contracting claims and the National Employment Standards minimum notice (one week in the first year) all apply from day one. The toolkit does not model those claims; the checkpoints exist to give you the record they will require.
  • General guidance, not legal advice. A dismissal near either date, or of someone who has raised a complaint, is worth a phone call before it is a letter.
Sources

What to do about it

Probation is only useful if somebody is watching. Left alone, the date arrives, nobody has written anything down, and the choice is between confirming a person you have doubts about and dismissing one without a record. These steps are for the manager running the probation and whoever in HR is supposed to remind them.

1

Diarise both dates the day the contract is signed

Put both dates and every review checkpoint in the manager's calendar, not only HR's. The person who has to make the call is the person who needs the reminders.

2

Write the expectations down in week one

What good looks like at each checkpoint, in terms you could observe: outputs, behaviours, who they need to be working well with, what would worry you. Without that document the mid-point review is two people comparing impressions, and the weaker impression usually wins.

3

Keep dated notes and raise concerns when they happen

After every check-in, one paragraph, dated. A concern raised in week ten and written down is a record. The same concern raised for the first time at the final review looks, to a Commission member, like it was assembled afterwards.

4

Decide two to four weeks out, with the evidence in one place

Assemble the dated notes, the expectations document, the mid-point review and a written recommendation, then check the process risks before acting: is there a complaint on file, a protected attribute in play, notice to be paid, a contract term you missed. Then make the call and put it in writing either way. Confirmation deserves a letter too.

5
Where a tool helps

Read the last two years of probation failures backward

How many were fit failures that were visible in the interview, if anyone had been looking for them. That count belongs with whoever runs hiring, because probation is the most expensive place to discover it.

Probation confirms
what the offer missed.

Compono Hire is an applicant tracking system (ATS) that measures fit before you make the offer: a validated work personality and culture fit read on every candidate, scored the same way and shown next to the skills screen. Most ATSs move a candidate from applied to hired and leave fit to be discovered around week six.

Step 5 asks you to count how many probation failures were visible before the offer. Hire is how that count falls, and it hands the manager the same read from day one, so the review checkpoints above confirm what was already known rather than reveal it.

See how it works
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Common questions

What is the minimum employment period?

The period an employee must serve before they can make an unfair dismissal claim: 6 months, or 12 months where the employer has fewer than 15 employees. It runs from the employment start date in calendar months, and it can include regular and systematic casual service (where there was a reasonable expectation of continuing work) and service with the old employer in most business transfers.

Can probation be extended?

The contract term can be extended if the contract allows it or the employee agrees, but it changes nothing legally: the minimum employment period stays at 6 or 12 months no matter what the paperwork says. An extended probation past that point is a management tool, not a legal shield.

What notice applies during probation?

At least the National Employment Standards minimum: 1 week for service under a year (or payment in lieu), plus anything extra the contract promises. Probation does not remove notice obligations.

Can you dismiss someone on probation without a reason?

You can end employment during the minimum employment period without unfair dismissal exposure, but not without risk. General protections, discrimination and sham contracting claims apply from day one and have no minimum service requirement, and they are harder to defend without documented, lawful reasons. A clear performance record is protection, not paperwork. This is general guidance, not legal advice.

This page is general information, not legal advice. We check figures annually and update them on a best-efforts basis, but employment rules change and we cannot promise everything here is current or complete. Before you act on it, confirm the detail with the Fair Work Ombudsman or your own adviser. Last reviewed July 2026.

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Probation periods

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