Having the right contracts in place protects your business from disputes, non-payment, and legal liability. Most small businesses need at least three core contracts: a client agreement or terms of trade, an employment contract for each employee, and a subcontractor agreement if you engage contractors.
A client agreement (or terms of trade) should cover: scope of work, pricing and payment terms, payment timeframes and late payment consequences, warranty or guarantee terms, limitation of liability, dispute resolution process, and termination conditions. For trades, this often takes the form of a quote acceptance document that incorporates your standard terms.
Employment contracts must comply with the relevant Modern Award and the National Employment Standards. At minimum they should specify: position and duties, pay rate, hours of work, leave entitlements, notice period, confidentiality obligations, and any restraint of trade clauses (which must be reasonable to be enforceable in Australia).
Subcontractor agreements should clearly establish the contractor relationship (to avoid sham contracting claims), specify deliverables and timelines, set out payment terms, require the contractor to hold their own insurance and ABN, and include indemnity provisions.