AU Standard Operating Procedures Program — Small Business

01 — WHAT

What is it?

The SOP & Procedures Program — AU Small is a ready-to-implement framework for building and maintaining a Standard Operating Procedures library in your Australian small business. It gives business owners and managers everything they need to document how their critical processes are performed — using a consistent format, with Australian regulatory compliance built in from the start.

It provides the policy, procedures, templates, registers, writing guides, and training needed to move critical process knowledge out of people's heads and into documents that anyone can follow — and that satisfy WHS, Fair Work Act, Privacy Act, and Australian Consumer Law obligations.

________________________________________

02 — WHO

Who is it for?

• Australian business owners whose business depends too heavily on specific people being available
• Businesses that need WHS safe work procedures documented for hazardous tasks — and do not have a structured way to create and maintain them
• Owners who cannot step back or delegate because "only I know how to do it"
• Businesses where new staff take too long to reach competency — and where Fair Work Act training records are not being maintained
• Australian SMEs where customer-facing processes are inconsistent and potentially not ACL-compliant
• Anyone who has tried to write SOPs before but found the process overwhelming or inconsistent

________________________________________

03 — WHY

Why does it matter?

In Australia, SOPs are not just an operational tool — they carry direct compliance significance across multiple regulatory frameworks. A WHS SOP is evidence that a PCBU has implemented a safe system of work. A signed SOP Acknowledgement Form is Fair Work Act evidence in any unfair dismissal proceeding. A customer-facing SOP that is inconsistent with the Australian Consumer Law creates direct liability, regardless of intent.

Relevant considerations include:

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Cth) / state WHS Acts — PCBUs must document safe systems of work for hazardous tasks; Safe Work Australia guidance requires documented safe work procedures; WHS regulators may request SOPs during any investigation
• Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) — section 387 procedural fairness; training records including SOP Acknowledgement Forms are evidence in unfair dismissal claims; Modern Award compliance must be reflected in rostering and pay-related SOPs
• Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and Australian Privacy Principles — APP 1 requires documented practices and procedures; APP 11 requires security safeguards; SOPs covering personal information must be current and APP-consistent
• Australian Consumer Law — statutory consumer guarantees cannot be excluded by SOP; customer-facing SOPs covering complaints, refunds, and warranties must be consistent with ACL obligations

Without an SOP program, Australian businesses risk:

• PCBU liability for hazardous tasks performed without documented safe work procedures
• Fair Work Act evidence gaps in any unfair dismissal or performance management proceeding
• ACL exposure from customer-facing processes that are inconsistently applied or non-compliant
• Operations stopping when key people are away, sick, or resign
• New staff taking months to reach competency because training is informal and undocumented

________________________________________

04 — WHEN

When do you need it?

• Before any staff member performs a hazardous task without a documented safe work procedure
• When a Fair Work Commission claim or ATO review reveals your training records are incomplete
• When onboarding new staff who need to reach competency quickly and safely
• When the owner wants to step back from day-to-day operations
• When a customer complaint reveals your complaint or refund process is inconsistent with ACL obligations
• When the business is preparing for growth, a management hire, or business sale
• Whenever the same process is being done differently by different people — and it matters

________________________________________

05 — WHERE

Where does it apply?

• WHS and safety-critical processes — safe work procedures for every hazardous task
• Finance and administration — invoicing, payroll and super guarantee, BAS lodgement
• Customer service and sales — complaint handling (ACL-consistent), refund and returns process (ACL-consistent), customer onboarding
• Operations and delivery — core service or product delivery, quality checks, equipment operation
• People and HR — new staff onboarding (Fair Work Act), leave management, staff offboarding (final pay obligations)
• IT and systems — account setup, access removal (Privacy Act APP 11), data backup (APP 11)

________________________________________

06 — HOW

How does it work?

• Start with mandatory regulatory SOPs — the SOP Priority Process Guide identifies WHS, ACL, Privacy Act, and Fair Work Act SOPs that must be written first, regardless of operational priority
• Identify the gaps — use the SOP Gap Analysis Worksheet to map which processes have no documentation across all business functions
• Extract the knowledge — use the knowledge extraction technique in the Writing Guide to draw process knowledge out of the people who hold it; WHS SOPs include an additional hazard identification question
• Write the SOP — using the SOP Master Template, which includes a dedicated WHS Hazard Identification section with the hierarchy of controls
• Train and record — each staff member reads the SOP and signs an SOP Acknowledgement Form, which is retained for 7 years as a Fair Work Act evidence record
• Keep it current — WHS SOPs are reviewed every 6 months; customer-facing SOPs are checked for ACL consistency; Fair Work Act SOP updates happen immediately when a Modern Award determination takes effect
• Review annually — full SOP library review using the Annual Review Guide, including AU regulatory compliance check

________________________________________

07 — INCLUDED

What is included?

• 1.0 Product Document Index
• 1.1 Welcome Pack
• 1.2 Quick Start Guide
• 1.3 30-Day Implementation Roadmap
• 1.4 Programme Navigation Guide
• 2.1 SOP Executive Summary
• 2.2 SOP Annual Review Guide
• 3.1 SOP Governance Policy
• 3.2 SOP Review and Update Policy
• 4.1 SOP Writing Procedure
• 4.2 SOP Audit Procedure
• 5.1 SOP Master Template (with WHS Hazard Identification section)
• 5.2 SOP Acknowledgement Form (Fair Work Act evidence record)
• 5.3 SOP Gap Analysis Worksheet (mandatory AU regulatory SOPs listed first)
• 6.1 SOP Register (WHS SOP flag and 6-monthly review cycle)
• 6.2 SOP Training Register (Fair Work Act evidence records — 7-year retention)
• 6.3 SOP Version Control Register (AU regulatory trigger events recorded)
• 7.1 SOP Writing Guide (WHS hierarchy of controls and AU compliance guidance)
• 7.2 SOP Priority Process Guide (mandatory AU regulatory SOPs listed first)
• 7.3 SOP Annual Review Checklist (AU regulatory compliance check included)
• 8.1 SOP Staff Guide (WHS obligations and Fair Work Act context)
• 8.2 SOP Manager Guide (PCBU obligations, Fair Work Act evidence management)