• Employers are more likely to employ people who have had a job before, even for a short time.
• You can get experience through structured or formal work experience, volunteering, or paid work in another field. You can ask for a reference to confirm what work you did.
• Know the difference between work experience, volunteering and paid work so you don’t get taken advantage of.
• Formal or structured work experience is usually done through your school, registered training organisation or university as part of your study program and is usually unpaid.
• A business cannot ask you to work as a volunteer or for an unpaid trial. A business must pay you for the work you do unless you are on a work placement under a national, state or territory training program.

What you can do if your employer doesn’t pay you for your work?

You can lodge a workplace complaint form if you believe you have not received correct wages.

Contact the Fair Work Infoline on 13 13 94 or chat online with a Live help adviser if you think you are being asked to accept unpaid work.