An outworker is someone who is either:
- a contractor in the textile, clothing or footwear industry who works somewhere that wouldn’t normally be seen as a place of business - eg. at home, or
- an employee who works for their employer somewhere that wouldn’t normally be seen as a place of business - eg. at home.
This definition comes from the Fair Work Act 2009.
Outworkers are common in the clothing, textile and footwear manufacturing industry.
Minimum workplace conditions for outworkers
Employers in the national workplace relations system have to:
Other conditions for outworkers
Some state laws have conditions about outworkers, such as letting unions into an employer's building to look at outworker records. These laws still apply.
There are also has special rights of entry for unions to check on textile, clothing and footwear outworkers.