We’re chuffed that you’ve invested your money in this template which is made just for Australian recruitment agencies.

We’ve brought in all our experience working with agencies all over Australia to create a friendly, easy-to-use template just for you.

If you’re a person who likes to work hard to complete documents and feel like the effort equals the investment, then you might be in for a shock! We deliberately don’t want this to be hard to complete so you can get on with the business of placing people with your clients.

So, while it might look like it’s too good to be true, trust us, that’s exactly the point.

We’ve put in the hours so you don’t have to. This means that in minutes you will have an awesome, recruiter-made document.

However, our philosophy at Ready Set Recruit Legal is that the best legal document in the world is no good if you don’t know how to use it.

Before you jump into customising this template, this User Guide has more information about this particular template so you can be confident in rolling it out.

You will see fill-the-blank sections called ‘Custom’. We have provided some guidance notes to help you fill these in and more detailed instructions below for some sections (see the Completion Checklist).

To replace a ‘Custom’ prompt, simply click on it and insert your text.

This template is to be used to engage a ‘Pty Ltd’ contractor. It is not suitable for ‘PAYG’ independent contractors.

This Agreement has been written to best meet the requirements of unfair contract terms laws. Given the significant penalties for unfair contract terms, we do not recommend one-sided terms.

Clear, reasonable terms also make good business sense and build trust and confidence.

When reviewing and completing this Agreement, keep in mind that an unfair contract term is one that:

1. Creates a significant imbalance in the parties’ rights and obligations under the terms.

2. Is not reasonably necessary to protect the legitimate interests of the advantaged party.

3. Would cause detriment to the disadvantaged party if it were applied or relied on.

This Agreement is an overarching agreement for the provision of services by the ABN contractor that relies on Service Orders to detail a specific assignment.

To document an Assignment:

Initial Service Order: populate the Service Order attached to the main agreement (see below for more information about this)

New Service Orders: issue a new Service Order based on the provided Standalone Service Order template.

An individual engaged by the ‘Pty Ltd’ is not a party to the main agreement. Therefore, they have not provided personal undertakings to you or the host client. 

The most common scenario is where an individual is using their own company structure. However, it may be the company has multiple employees.

We have, therefore, provided a separate Key Person Deed for each such individual to sign. It contains personal undertakings concerning their role in assisting the Pty Ltd company to provide services.

See the separate fact sheet for information regarding execution/signing requirements for the Key Person Deed.

The Pty Ltd company is a legal entity that provides individuals or other contractors to assist in providing services.

This ABN Agreement refers to each person as a Contractor Responsible Party.

Under clause 7, a Key Person named in a Service Order as a ‘Key Person’ is approved to assist the Pty Ltd.

However,  your agency must approve any additional persons the contractor wishes to use to assist with the services under a Service Order.

Under clause 8, the Pty Ltd is responsible for all remuneration, employee entitlements and taxes regarding its Contractor Responsible Parties, i.e. employees and contractors.

See clause 9 and the template Service Order.

You can specify the Pty Ltd’s insurance requirements under a specific Service Order. Typically, these include professional indemnity, public liability and, where required by law, workers' compensation insurance.

As workers compensation insurance differs in each State and Territory, your responsibilities may vary regarding insuring a ‘Key Person’ depending on the State or Territory that applies to the on-hire of the ABN Contractor.

If you are unsure about the overlap or gaps in your own insurance when supplying ABN contractors, you should seek specialist insurance advice.

See clause 17, which separates termination of a Service Order (clause 17.1) from termination of the overall Agreement (clause 17.2).

We have provided guidance in the Completion Checklist regarding setting notice periods.

This Agreement does not contain restraints. Instead, it requires the contractor to notify your agency if it or a key person is approached by the host client to perform services directly. In other words, you will rely on any terms with your client to recover a transition/conversion fee.

See clause 19.

If you require restraints you should seek expert legal advice to ensure they are both enforceable and also not deemed to be unfair contract terms.

See clause 20.

The ABN company has safety duties that it shares with you and the host client to ensure the health and safety of key persons while they are assisting the ABN to perform services for the host client.

If you’re unfamiliar with your OHS obligations and those of your contractors and host clients, we recommend you get in touch with your State/Territory safety authority or industry body like RCSA or APSCo (members of RCSA or APSCo can access lots of helpful information) and/or seek out expert help from a staffing expert like www.riskcollective.com.au

If a Pty Ltd contractor is also a trustee, clause 21 sets out specific warranties regarding its role as trustee. You should review these carefully as their purpose is to ensure the trustee can recover from the assets held in trust (if any).

You should always request a copy of the trust deed and seek advice to ensure the warranties in clause 21 match the trustee’s rights under the trust deed.

We have included the initial Service Order in Annexure 1 to the Agreement. For future assignments, you can use the standalone template Service Order.

We have provided some more information about completing the Service Order in the Completion Checklist below.