Role Change or Redundancy in Australia?

Changing roles is a normal part of running a growing (or adapting) business. You might be restructuring a team, introducing new technology, consolidating duties, or responding to a downturn. But when a “role change” effectively removes someone’s job and replaces it with a different position, the legal risk can increase quickly.

This is where employers often get stuck: you want to update a role, but you’re worried the changes might amount to redundancy (or a dismissal dressed up as a restructure). On the other hand, you might genuinely need to make a position redundant, but you’re not sure how to handle the transition fairly and lawfully.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through how role change redundancy issues usually arise, how to tell the difference between a lawful role change and a redundancy, and the practical steps you can take to reduce the risk of disputes.

What Does “Role Change Redundancy” Mean In Practice?

“Role change redundancy” isn’t a formal legal term, but it describes a very common workplace scenario: your business changes a position so significantly that the original job is no longer the same job.

In practical terms, this can happen when:

you remove key duties from a role and move them elsewhere
you add new duties that require different skills or qualifications
you combine two roles into one
you change the seniority, reporting lines, or decision-making authority
you relocate the job to another site (or require a different work pattern) in a way the employee can’t reasonably accommodate

Some role changes are completely lawful and manageable. But others can cross into redundancy territory, particularly if the “new” role is materially different and the old role genuinely no longer exists.

Why This Area Gets Risky For Small Businesses

For many small businesses, role changes happen informally. You might update duties as you go, or ask someone to “cover a bit more” while you recruit. That flexibility can be great operationally, but if things later fall apart, a tribunal or court will look at what actually occurred (not just what you intended).

If an employee feels they were pushed out, forced to accept an unreasonable change, or replaced under the guise of a restructure, it can trigger claims like unfair dismissal, general protections disputes, or underpayment issues if duties change without proper classification review.

Role Change Vs Redundancy: How Do You Tell The Difference?

A good starting point is this: a redundancy is generally about the job no longer being required, while a role change is generally about the same job continuing with adjusted duties.

However, in real workplaces, there’s often a grey area in between.

When A Role Change Is More Likely To Be A Genuine Variation

A change is more likely to be a variation (rather than redundancy) when:

the core purpose of the role stays the same
the duties are still broadly aligned with the employee’s classification/skills
the change is contemplated by the employment contract (and applied reasonably)
the change is implemented after proper consultation (especially where an Award or enterprise agreement requires it)

This is where having well-drafted documentation matters. If you’re updating an employee’s position or terms, a clean paper trail helps. In many cases, you’ll be looking at either changing employment contracts or adjusting responsibilities through a clear position description update (or both).

When A “Role Change” Starts To Look Like Redundancy

A role change is more likely to raise redundancy concerns when:

the old role’s key duties are removed entirely
the new role requires significantly different skills, seniority, or qualifications
the location, hours, or pay structure changes materially
you advertise or hire for a “new” role that looks substantially similar to the old role

If your business no longer needs the original role to be performed by anyone (because of restructure, downturn, outsourcing, automation, or consolidation), you may be looking at a genuine redundancy scenario rather than a simple role update.

A Common Trap: “Same Work, Different Title”

One of the biggest legal risks is making someone “redundant” and then hiring a new person to do substantially the same work with a slightly tweaked title or a changed reporting line.

Even if you’ve improved the role description, the key question is usually whether the employer no longer required the person’s job to be performed by anyone. If the day-to-day work continues in essentially the same form, it may be hard to defend as a genuine redundancy.

How To Manage A Role Change Lawfully (Before It Becomes A Dispute)

If you’re still in the “we want to change the role, but we don’t want it to become redundancy” stage, focus on process and clarity. Most disputes escalate because employees feel blindsided, confused, or pressured.

1. Get Clear On What’s Changing And Why

Before you speak to the employee, make sure you can clearly articulate:

what problem you’re trying to solve (cost, workflow, client demand, compliance, operational needs)
what duties are being removed and what duties are being added
how the reporting line and performance expectations will change
what is staying the same (if anything)

It’s also wise to sanity-check whether what you’re proposing is better characterised as a lawful direction / minor variation, a negotiated contract change, or a restructure that may trigger redundancy obligations.

2. Check The Employee’s Contract, Award, And Policies

Role flexibility clauses aren’t a free pass. Even if a contract says duties may change, you still need to act reasonably, comply with any consultation requirements, and ensure the employee is properly classified and paid for the work they perform.

If you’re unsure whether a change is “within scope”, it can help to review the principles around job description changes before implementing anything.

3. Consult Early (And Properly)

Consultation isn’t just a courtesy. Many Modern Awards and enterprise agreements include consultation obligations when you introduce major workplace change (including restructure).

Good consultation usually involves:

giving the employee information about the proposed change
genuinely considering their feedback
discussing impacts (pay, hours, workload, location, reporting lines)
documenting the steps you took

For small businesses, a practical approach is to treat consultation like good change management: don’t spring it on someone, don’t “announce and enforce”, and don’t assume silence equals agreement.

4. Confirm Changes In Writing

If you agree on changes, document them. Depending on what’s changing, this might include an updated position description, a contract variation letter, or a new employment agreement.

Where the changes are significant, having a tailored Employment Contract can reduce misunderstandings and help you set performance expectations clearly.

When A Role Change Turns Into Redundancy: Your Legal Checklist

Sometimes, despite best intentions, you reach the point where the role genuinely can’t continue in its current form. If the job is no longer required, you may need to proceed with redundancy (and do it carefully).

1. Confirm Whether It’s A Genuine Redundancy

While each situation is different, genuine redundancy typically involves:

your business no longer requiring the job to be performed by anyone (due to operational requirements)
you complying with any consultation requirements
considering redeployment options (where relevant)

Be cautious if you are removing one person and immediately redistributing the same core duties to a new hire in a “new” role. That’s where risk tends to spike.

2. Follow A Process That Matches Your Risk

Redundancy is not just an accounting exercise. It’s a termination of employment, and that means how you communicate and document the decision matters.

A practical process often looks like:

Planning: prepare a role comparison (old vs new), organisational chart changes, and the business rationale.
Consultation meeting(s): discuss the proposed change and redundancy risk, invite feedback, and consider alternatives.
Redeployment consideration: look at whether there is a suitable alternative role available within your business (and, in some cases, related entities depending on the structure and circumstances).
Decision and notice: provide written confirmation and explain final dates, notice, and entitlements.
Final pay and separation documentation: finalise payroll, return of property, and handover.

If the situation is sensitive (or you’re concerned about conduct/performance issues overlapping with restructure), take care not to mix processes without advice. In some cases you might need a structured performance pathway rather than redundancy, including tools like Show Cause Letters-but redundancy should not be used as a shortcut for performance management.

3. Calculate Notice, Redundancy Pay, And Final Entitlements

Redundancy often involves multiple entitlements that need to be calculated correctly, including:

notice of termination (or payment in lieu)
redundancy pay (depending on eligibility, business size, and length of service)
unused annual leave (and potentially leave loading, if applicable)
other contractual entitlements

Where you’re paying out notice instead of requiring someone to work it, make sure you understand payment in lieu of notice and how it should be handled in your documentation and payroll.

If you want a quick estimate as a starting point, a Redundancy Calculator can be helpful-but you should still check the employee’s Award/agreement, contract terms, and any specific eligibility rules.

4. Consider Small Business Scenarios

Many small businesses are under the small business redundancy threshold, but that doesn’t mean you can ignore process. Even where redundancy pay is not payable, you may still have obligations around notice, consultation (depending on the instrument covering the employee), and redeployment considerations.

In addition, small business employers are often more exposed to relationship-based disputes, where communication issues can quickly become legal issues. A clear, respectful process is one of the simplest ways to reduce that risk.

Common Mistakes Employers Make (And How To Avoid Them)

When role change redundancy issues end up in dispute territory, the same patterns often show up. Here are the common missteps we see-and what to do instead.

Mistake 1: Treating A Major Role Change As A Simple “Direction”

Yes, you can direct employees in certain ways. But if you substantially change duties, seniority, remuneration, or location, it may go beyond a lawful and reasonable direction.

Better approach: treat major changes as something you consult on and document, not something you announce.

Mistake 2: Skipping Consultation Because “We’ve Already Decided”

If consultation is required (or even just best practice), it needs to be genuine. Going through the motions can backfire later.

Better approach: share the proposal early, invite feedback, and keep notes of what you considered and why.

Mistake 3: Using Redundancy To Solve Performance Problems

This is a high-risk move. If the real reason is performance, redundancy may be challenged as not genuine.

Better approach: use an appropriate performance management process, and keep redundancy for genuine structural needs.

Mistake 4: Not Considering Redeployment

Even if you’re confident the role is redundant, failing to consider redeployment options can create problems-especially where there are other roles available that are reasonably suitable.

Better approach: actively check whether there’s an alternative role, and document the consideration process (even if the conclusion is “none available”).

Mistake 5: Poor Documentation (Or No Documentation)

In a dispute, documentation can be the difference between “we did this properly” and “we can’t prove what happened.”

Better approach: keep written records of consultation, role comparisons, organisational changes, and final termination documentation.

Key Takeaways

Role change redundancy issues usually arise when a “role change” is so significant that the original job no longer exists, or when the change is used as a pathway to remove an employee without following a fair process.
A lawful role change is more defensible when the core purpose of the job remains, the change is reasonable, and you consult and document the variation properly.
If the job is genuinely no longer required, redundancy may be appropriate-but consultation and redeployment considerations are critical risk points.
Redundancy involves more than a final meeting: you need to calculate notice, final entitlements, and (where applicable) redundancy pay correctly.
Clear documentation and well-structured employment paperwork can significantly reduce the risk of disputes when roles change or restructure occurs.

This article is general information only and not legal advice. If you’d like help navigating a role change redundancy situation or planning a restructure the right way, you can reach us at 1800 730 617 or team@sprintlaw.com.au for a free, no-obligations chat.

Does a Role Change Count as Redundancy in Australia?