HR processes: acquisition, development, maintenance and separation, with the legal rules for notice, redundancy and unfair dismissal (HSC Business Studies)

What this dot point is asking

The syllabus lists "processes of human resource management: acquisition; development; maintenance; separation". Questions ask you to describe or explain the processes, apply them to a stem business, or recommend how a business should manage one (often separation or change).

Acquisition

Acquisition is attracting and selecting the employees the business needs.

1. Workforce (human resource) planning: forecasting the number and type of employees needed, compared with the current workforce, given the business's plans.
2. Job analysis: identifying the tasks of a role, producing a job description (duties, responsibilities, conditions) and a job specification (qualifications, skills and attributes required).
3. Recruitment: attracting a pool of suitable applicants.
   • Internal recruitment (promotion, transfer): cheaper and faster, motivates staff, the person already knows the business; but limits new ideas and leaves another vacancy.
   • External recruitment (online job boards, social media, the business's website, recruitment agencies, employee referrals, universities and TAFE): wider pool and new skills; but costlier, slower and riskier.
4. Selection: choosing the best applicant.
   • Screening applications and CVs against the specification;
   • Interviews, preferably structured (the same questions for every candidate, scored against criteria) to reduce bias;
   • Tests: skills, work samples, psychometric and aptitude tests;
   • Reference and background checks (and legal right-to-work checks);
   • Making the offer and employment contract.

Legal and ethical requirements. Anti-discrimination laws apply from the job advertisement onwards: selection must be based on merit, not on protected attributes such as age, sex, race, disability or pregnancy. Automated screening tools must be checked so they do not disadvantage protected groups. Employees must receive the Fair Work Information Statement (and the Casual Employment Information Statement for casuals).

Development

Development is improving employees' skills, knowledge and performance.

• Induction: introducing new employees to the business (history, values, structure), their role, colleagues, policies, systems and work health and safety procedures. Good induction speeds productivity and reduces early resignations.
• Training: building the skills to do the current job (and the next one).
  • On-the-job: coaching, job rotation, demonstration while working: relevant and cheap, but can disrupt work and pass on bad habits.
  • Off-the-job: courses, workshops, online learning, formal qualifications: structured and expert-led, but costlier and less directly applied.
• Mentoring: an experienced employee guides a less experienced one on skills, career and culture; benefits both parties and supports retention.
• Performance appraisal: assessing performance against agreed goals and giving feedback.
  • Developmental appraisal focuses on feedback, strengths and training needs.
  • Administrative appraisal informs decisions about pay rises, bonuses, promotion or dismissal.
  • Methods include self-appraisal, manager review, 360-degree feedback (from managers, peers, direct reports and sometimes customers), and goal-based reviews.

Example: development after a failure. When the Federal Court ordered Optus to pay a $100 million penalty in September 2025 for unconscionable sales practices towards vulnerable customers, its compliance commitments included a new training and induction system for sales staff and a specialist care team for vulnerable customers. Development was part of the remedy.

Maintenance

Maintenance is keeping employees productive, satisfied and committed, so the business retains the people it has invested in.

• Pay and conditions: correct and fair pay at least at award and agreement rates (award wages rose 4.75 per cent from 1 July 2026), leave, flexible work, a safe workplace and benefits.
• Employee participation: involving employees in decisions, through consultation, work teams, suggestion schemes, surveys, work health and safety committees and enterprise bargaining. Participation improves decisions and commitment.
• Organisational culture: the shared values, beliefs and behaviours of the organisation. HR shapes culture through who it hires, what it rewards, how leaders behave, induction and communication.
• Change management: helping employees through changes in technology, structure or location by communicating, consulting, training, supporting and staging the change (see the Original question above).
• Wellbeing and work-life balance: employee assistance programs, flexible working, the right to disconnect outside working hours (for all employers since 26 August 2025) and managing psychosocial hazards.

Example: maintenance through change. When Woolworths announced its automated and semi-automated distribution centres at Moorebank in 2020, replacing older centres at Minchinbury and Yennora, it committed to offering 650 redeployment roles at the new sites and career transition support for affected workers.

Separation

Separation is the end of the employment relationship.

Voluntary separation (initiated by the employee)

• Resignation: the employee leaves for another job, study or personal reasons, giving the notice required by their award, agreement or contract.
• Retirement: leaving the workforce, often around superannuation preservation age (60) or Age Pension age (67). Forcing someone to retire because of age is age discrimination.

HR tasks: final pay including accrued annual leave (and long service leave under state law), return of property, handover, and an exit interview to learn why people leave.

Involuntary separation (initiated by the employer)

• Retrenchment/redundancy: the job is no longer required by anyone because of restructuring, technology, falling demand or relocation. It is about the job, not the person.
• Dismissal: termination because of the employee's conduct or performance. Summary dismissal (without notice) is only for serious misconduct such as theft, fraud, violence or serious safety breaches.

NES notice of termination (by the employer)

Employees over 45 with at least 2 years' continuous service get an extra week. Employers can pay in lieu of notice.

NES redundancy pay (not required for small business employers with fewer than 15 employees)

A redundancy is genuine only if the employer no longer requires the job to be done by anyone, it has met its consultation obligations under the award or agreement, and it would not have been reasonable to redeploy the employee within the business or an associated entity.

Unfair dismissal and general protections

An employee can apply to the Fair Work Commission for unfair dismissal within 21 days if the dismissal was harsh, unjust or unreasonable. To be eligible they must have completed the minimum employment period (6 months, or 12 months with a small business employer) and be covered by an award or agreement or earn less than the high income threshold ($190,100 from 1 July 2026). Small businesses that follow the Small Business Fair Dismissal Code are protected. Separately, the general protections make it unlawful to dismiss someone for a prohibited reason, such as a workplace right, union membership, a complaint, or a protected attribute.

Procedural fairness for dismissal means: a valid reason; telling the employee the reason; giving them an opportunity to respond (with a support person); and, for performance, prior warnings and a chance to improve.

How this dot point appears in the HSC

• Section I: identify the process or sub-process in a scenario (for example, a coaching session is development; a restructure is involuntary separation).
• Section II: explain one or two processes, or distinguish voluntary and involuntary separation (3 to 5 marks).
• Section III: recommend processes for a business with high turnover, poor performance or planned restructuring.
• Section IV: evaluate the effectiveness of HR processes using indicators such as turnover and absenteeism.