Victorian secure employment policy: checking fixed-term contracts after 1 November 2026

The Secure Employment chapter of Victoria’s Public Sector Industrial Relations Policies 2025 is government policy, not an enterprise agreement or an unconditional promise of conversion. The official collection was updated on 2 November 2026.

What changed

The policy says all public sector employers must apply the Fair Work Act’s fixed-term limits as if they legally apply from 1 November 2026. That policy obligation is not proof that the same statutory coverage exists for every employee. The reasons for fixed-term employment must align with the relevant exceptions. A general policy maximum of three years is not permission to disregard the Act’s usual two-year limit where no exception applies. The chapter also addresses casual employment, conversion and labour hire.

What to check in corrections

Keep each contract and extension, the dates, the recorded reason, the duties actually performed and any written conversion decision. A defined backfill or funded project and a succession of contracts for continuing core work may call for different checks. Ask the employer to identify the exception or agreement provision it relies on rather than assuming a repeated contract guarantees a permanent role.

Read the current Secure Employment policy and the full official collection. General workplace information only.