UWA’s Life Balance philosophy acknowledges that all employees have full and complex lives outside the workplace. Life balance is a fundamental Human Resource strategy which supports diversity and has demonstrated results in improving productivity as a result of increased attraction and retention, and reduced absenteeism.

The University recognises the importance of proactively supporting flexible work practices and work/life balance initiatives that assist it to remain an employer of choice, enabling it to attract and retain high quality staff in an internationally competitive labour market.

See 'Flexible Work and Leave Practices' for full details on staff entitlements at UWA, tips for how approach flexible work practices, and useful advice for managers on how to manage a flexible workplace.

UWA POLICIES

Policy on Flexible Work and Leave Practices

Homebased work policy

Hours of Work (General Staff) Policy

UWA TRACK RECORD AND OUR CURRENT WORK

• A flexible academic promotion and tenure system that has dismantled structural barriers impeding staff wishing to play active parenting or caring roles
    
• A performance management system that encourages all supervisory staff to be proactive in supporting flexible work practices and an appropriate work/life balance, and to model this behaviour themselves
    
• An individually negotiated phased retirement system that supports staff making the transition from full time work to full time retirement
     
• Access to quality, affordable and accessible child care
    
• Access to a family friendly Re-entry Postdoctoral Research Fellowships that supports the further professional development of staff who may have family responsibilities and the Fay Gale fellowship for women in their early stages of their careers to work for up to three months at an overseas instutition.
• A range of flexible working arrangements through the Enterprise Agreements. These include flexible working hours, permanent part time work, job sharing arrangements, purchased leave, deferred salary scheme, working from home arrangements and parental leave arrangements.  The University adopts a very wide interpretation of family and recognises, among others, same sex relationships and those determined by cultural and other differences.