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Exit Interview Form (Australia)

Exit Interview Form

Employee departure feedback — Australia

EXIT INTERVIEW FORM

Date of Interview: [Interview Date]

EMPLOYEE INFORMATION

Employee Name: [Employee Name]

Job Title: [Job Title]

Department: [Department]

Commencement Date: [Start Date]

Last Working Day: [Last Working Day]

1. REASON FOR LEAVING

Primary reason for leaving: [Departure Reason]

Additional comments: [Departure Details]

2. SATISFACTION RATINGS

Please rate your experience in each of the following areas:

Quality of management and supervision: [Management Rating]

Work environment and culture: [Work Environment Rating]

Career development and training: [Career Development Rating]

Remuneration and benefits: [Remuneration Rating]

3. FEEDBACK AND SUGGESTIONS

What could the organisation do differently? [Improvement Suggestions]

Would you recommend this organisation as a place to work? [Would Recommend]

Would you consider returning to work here in the future? [Would Return]

Additional comments: [Additional Comments]

PRIVACY NOTICE

The information provided in this form will be used solely for the purpose of improving our workplace and is handled in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles. Individual responses may be aggregated for reporting purposes but will not be disclosed to other employees without your consent.

EMPLOYEE

Name: [Employee Name]

INTERVIEWER

Name: [Interviewer Name]

Title: [Interviewer Title]

Employee

________________

Signature

Date: ________________

Interviewer

________________

Signature

Date: ________________

Maintained by Vladislav Sergienko, Founder·Template last modified: ·Report an error

What Is a Exit Interview Form (Australia)?

An Exit Interview Form in Australia sets out the duties, hours, pay, leave, and termination terms between employer and employee, consistent with the minimum entitlements guaranteed by the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth).

In Australia, exit interviews are not legally required under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) or any other federal or state employment legislation. However, they are widely recognised as best-practice HR procedure and are recommended by the Fair Work Ombudsman as a tool for understanding workforce dynamics and managing workplace culture. Organisations certified to ISO 9001:2015 (Quality Management Systems) or implementing the principles of the Australian Human Resources Institute (AHRI) may include exit interview processes as part of their documented management systems.

The data collected through an Exit Interview Form is personal information under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs). Under APP 3, an employer may only collect personal information that is reasonably necessary for one or more of its functions or activities — in the exit interview context, this means the information should be limited to what is genuinely needed to understand the reasons for departure and improve the workplace. Under APP 6, the personal information collected through the exit interview may only be used for the purpose for which it was collected (improving HR practices and retention) and should not be disclosed to third parties without the departing employee's consent. Under APP 11, the completed forms should be stored securely with restricted access, and retained only for as long as necessary for the purpose of collection.

From a Fair Work Act perspective, exit interview data can have legal significance if it contains admissions or statements relevant to potential workplace disputes. Statements made by a departing employee in an exit interview about bullying, harassment, discrimination, wage theft, or unsafe working conditions could be relevant in subsequent proceedings before the Fair Work Commission, a state employment tribunal (such as NCAT in New South Wales, VCAT in Victoria, or QCAT in Queensland), the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), or the courts. Employers should conduct exit interviews professionally and should not attempt to use the exit interview process to extract admissions from employees or to persuade them not to pursue legal claims. Similarly, employees participating in exit interviews should be aware that their responses may be used in subsequent proceedings if relevant.

Exit interview responses that reveal systemic safety issues — such as recurring incidents of bullying, harassment, or unsafe work practices — may also trigger obligations under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Cth) and state WHS legislation. Under Section 19 of the WHS Act, the person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) has a duty to eliminate or minimise psychosocial risks at the workplace, and exit interview feedback identifying psychosocial hazards (such as excessive workloads, poor management, interpersonal conflict, or lack of role clarity) should be taken seriously as a trigger for a workplace psychosocial risk assessment under the model Code of Practice on Managing Psychosocial Hazards at Work published by Safe Work Australia.

When Do You Need a Exit Interview Form (Australia)?

An Exit Interview Form should be used in Australia whenever an employee leaves the organisation for any reason — resignation, redundancy, retirement, end of fixed-term contract, or mutual agreement. The timing, method, and scope of the exit interview should be adapted to the circumstances of the departure.

**Voluntary Resignations**

When an employee resigns voluntarily, the exit interview is the primary opportunity for the employer to understand the real reasons for the departure. Employees who resign are often more candid in a well-conducted exit interview than they were during employment — particularly about management issues, team dynamics, pay dissatisfaction, and lack of development opportunities. HR professionals and managers should approach the exit interview as a genuine information-gathering exercise rather than a retention pitch or an attempt to minimise the employee's grievances.

**Redundancies**

When a role is made redundant and the employee is selected for redundancy under Section 119 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), an exit interview can still provide useful feedback about the employee's overall experience of the organisation. However, employers should be cautious about using exit interviews as an opportunity to address any disputes about the redundancy process — if the employee believes the redundancy was not genuine, or that they were unfairly selected, that discussion belongs in a formal grievance process rather than an exit interview. The minimum employment period for unfair dismissal claims under Section 383 of the Fair Work Act is six months (or one year for small businesses), and a former employee who believes their redundancy was not genuine has 21 days from the date of dismissal to lodge an application with the Fair Work Commission under Section 394.

**End of Fixed-Term Contracts**

For employees at the end of a fixed-term contract, an exit interview documents their perspective on the engagement and any interest in future opportunities. The amendments to the Fair Work Act introduced by the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Act 2022 restrict the use of successive fixed-term contracts — and exit interview data can help the employer assess whether fixed-term arrangements are meeting operational needs or whether roles should be made permanent.

**High-Performing Employees**

The departure of a high-performing or key employee is a significant event for any organisation. Exit interviews with high performers who are leaving for a competitor or a promotion elsewhere should focus on understanding what the organisation could have done to retain them — better career development, increased remuneration, improved management, or flexible working arrangements. These insights are particularly valuable for workforce planning and retention strategy.

**Departments with High Turnover**

Where a department or team has experienced elevated turnover — for example, if multiple employees have resigned within a short period — conducting exit interviews with departing employees in that team is an important diagnostic tool. Patterns emerging from multiple exit interviews — such as consistent references to a particular manager, an unreasonable workload, or a toxic team culture — may indicate a systemic workplace issue that triggers obligations under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Cth) to assess and manage psychosocial hazards.

**Timing and Method**

Exit interviews are most effective when conducted close to the employee's last day, while their experience is fresh and before their post-employment confidentiality and non-disparagement obligations (if any) affect the candour of their responses. Many Australian employers offer both a face-to-face or video interview with HR and an anonymous written form that the employee can complete independently, as some employees are more candid in writing than in a face-to-face conversation.

What to Include in Your Exit Interview Form (Australia)

A thorough and legally sound Exit Interview Form for Australia should include the following sections, structured to gather actionable data while complying with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).

**Employee and Employment Details**

The form should capture the employee's full name, job title, department, and employment commencement date. Recording the length of service helps the organisation identify whether turnover is concentrated among newer employees (suggesting onboarding or role-fit issues) or longer-tenured employees (suggesting issues with career progression or culture change).

**Reason for Leaving**

A clear and specific reason for leaving is the core data point. The form should offer a range of predefined categories — including better opportunity elsewhere, remuneration, management issues, career development, work-life balance, relocation, family reasons, retirement, and redundancy — alongside an open-text field for the employee to elaborate. Where multiple factors contributed to the decision, the employee should be invited to rank them by importance.

**Notice and Handover**

The form should confirm the employee's last working day, the notice period being served (consistent with Section 117 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) minimum notice requirements), and the handover arrangements being made. This section supports operational planning and confirms compliance with the NES notice obligations.

**Satisfaction Ratings**

A structured ratings section using a Likert scale (e.g., 1–5) covering key dimensions of the employment experience — management and leadership, team culture, workload, remuneration and benefits, career development opportunities, physical work environment, and work-life balance — produces quantifiable data that can be tracked and compared across departments and over time. Rating-based data is more amenable to trend analysis than open-text responses alone.

**Management and Leadership Feedback**

Open-text questions about the employee's experience of their direct manager — how they communicated expectations, provided feedback, supported professional development, and managed team dynamics — produce insights about specific management practices that may need to be addressed. Employers should aggregate this feedback at a departmental level rather than attributing specific comments to individual managers in ways that could be misused.

**Workplace Culture and Psychological Safety**

Questions about whether the employee felt safe to raise concerns, whether incidents of bullying or harassment were addressed appropriately, and whether the organisation's values were reflected in day-to-day conduct are critical for identifying psychosocial hazards under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Cth). Safe Work Australia's model Code of Practice on Managing Psychosocial Hazards at Work identifies job demands, poor support, poor workplace relationships, and low role clarity as key psychosocial risk factors — all of which can be identified through exit interview data.

**Suggestions for Improvement**

An open invitation for the employee to suggest specific improvements to processes, policies, culture, or management practices often produces the most actionable insights in the exit interview. Departing employees who no longer have a personal stake in the organisation's approval may be more candid about systemic issues than current employees.

**Rehire Eligibility and Future Contact**

The form should record whether the organisation would consider the employee for future roles and whether the employee would consider returning. Many Australian employers maintain an alumni network of high-performing former employees, and documenting rehire eligibility in the exit interview form ensures consistency in future recruitment decisions.

**Privacy Consent**

The form should include a statement informing the departing employee of how their feedback will be stored, who will have access to it, and how it will be used — consistent with APP 5 (notification of collection) of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). The employee should consent to the use of their anonymised responses for organisational improvement purposes. The forms-legal.com Exit Interview Form (Australia) template covers all these components and is suitable for all Australian employers across all industries and employment types.

**Legal Framework and Compliance**

Exit interview records may be relevant in Fair Work Commission proceedings under Section 394 (unfair dismissal), Section 365 (general protections), and Section 372 (unlawful termination) of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). The Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) governs collection and handling under Australian Privacy Principle 3 (collection), Australian Privacy Principle 6 (use and disclosure), and Australian Privacy Principle 11 (security of personal information). The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) handles complaints under Section 36 of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). Anti-discrimination obligations arise under the Age Discrimination Act 2004 (Cth), the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth), the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth), and the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth). Complaints may be lodged with the Australian Human Rights Commission under Section 46P of the Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986 (Cth). The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) enforces record-keeping obligations under Part 3-6 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) and Regulation 3.33 of the Fair Work Regulations 2009. The forms-legal.com Exit Interview Form (Australia) template covers all these components.

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Reference this free template in an article, syllabus, or research note:

APA

Forms Legal. (2026). Exit Interview Form (Australia) (Australia) [Legal document template]. Forms Legal. https://forms-legal.com/australia/employment/hr-forms/exit-interview-form-australia

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"Exit Interview Form (Australia) (Australia)." Forms Legal, 2026, https://forms-legal.com/australia/employment/hr-forms/exit-interview-form-australia.

BibTeX
@misc{formslegal-exit-interview-form-australia,
  author       = {{Forms Legal}},
  title        = {Exit Interview Form (Australia) (Australia)},
  year         = {2026},
  howpublished = {\url{https://forms-legal.com/australia/employment/hr-forms/exit-interview-form-australia}},
  note         = {Free legal document template. Based on Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth)}
}

Frequently Asked Questions

Based on Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) — Template last modified June 2026Verify the source →

This template is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change over time. Consult a qualified attorney for advice specific to your situation.Full disclaimer

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