Accuracy & privacy
How we keep answers right — and your information yours
Workplace information is only useful if it's correct and safe to use. This page sets out, in plain language, the practices behind every figure and answer on FairWork Mate.
Every rate traces to a primary source
Pay rates, thresholds and entitlements on this site cite their source — the Fair Work Commission, the Fair Work Ombudsman, the ATO or Services Australia — with the date we last verified them. Our FY2026-27 audit verified 820 rates against primary documents, and our systems flag any figure that hasn't been re-checked after an Annual Wage Review. When we can't verify a figure, we say so rather than publish it.
Calculators are tested against hand-worked answers
Every calculator ships with "golden value" tests — worked examples computed by hand from the legislation or award, which the software must reproduce exactly before any change can go live. Our release process runs thousands of these checks on every update.
AI answers are grounded and cited — information, not advice
The AI advisor answers from retrieved sources: current award rates, published Fair Work Commission and court decisions (each linked so you can read the original), and the Fair Work Act itself. It is general information, never legal advice, and every answer carries escalation paths — the Fair Work Ombudsman (13 13 94), the Fair Work Commission, community legal centres and legal aid. Where a question needs a lawyer, the advisor says so.
Personal information is scrubbed before AI processing
Names, phone numbers, emails, addresses and identifiers like tax file numbers are automatically removed from your messages before any AI model sees them, and again before anything is stored. Your questions and documents are never used to train AI models.
Your data: kept minimal, deletable, in your control
Anonymous chats are deleted within 24 hours. Signed-in chat history is retained per your plan's stated window and pruned automatically. Deleting your account erases your data. We don't sell personal information, and referral partners never receive information about individuals — only anonymous aggregate counts (how many people used their link, which tools). See the full privacy policy.
Independent, and clear about it
FairWork Mate is an independent Australian service — not affiliated with the Fair Work Ombudsman, the Fair Work Commission or any government agency, and we never present ourselves as them. Errors can be reported to hello@fairworkmate.com.au and are corrected with priority.