Senior, commercially minded HR and industrial relations advice for businesses that need clear answers, and a calm adviser who knows their business, when the people side gets complicated.
An HR consultant provides external support and guidance across the employment lifecycle, from contracts, compliance and workplace policies through to performance, misconduct, employee relations and more complex workplace matters.
The role is not simply to manage paperwork. A good HR consultant helps the business understand its obligations, manage people issues appropriately and put the right processes in place to reduce risk and support better decision-making.
Business owners and managers need clear, practical advice they can act on. A good HR consultant explains the risk, the available options and the recommended process without unnecessary jargon, ambiguity or hesitation.
Out-of-date contracts, an Award that's been misread for years, a performance issue that's been tolerated for too long. These are quiet problems, and they get expensive when they surface.
Drafting, reviewing, running the process, sitting in the meeting. You stay in charge of the decision. We guide and support the process around it.
It's different from a payroll provider or a recruiter, and different from a law firm. We sit in the middle: practical, commercial advice with legal-grade rigour, at a price an SME can sustain. When a matter genuinely needs a lawyer, we'll say so.
Most of our clients don't call because they planned to. They call because something happened. These are the moments we see most often.
You're not sure the process will hold up. See our guide to terminating an employee.
Bullying, harassment, misconduct. It needs a fair, documented response and, often, an independent workplace investigation.
Or a former employee has lodged a claim. Our guide to Fair Work and employee claims explains what happens next.
Contracts are inconsistent, nobody's sure which Modern Award applies, and the first few bad hires have already cost you.
It's the most common problem we find in a first review, and it's usually an honest mistake. Read more on employee underpayments.
Nobody has told you what that means in practice. See psychosocial hazards.
The common thread is that earlier is cheaper. A one-hour conversation before a termination costs a fraction of defending a claim after it.
Large HR hotlines are built for volume. You ring, you get whoever is free, and you explain your business from scratch each time. The advice is often generic and, understandably, written to limit the provider's exposure rather than solve your problem.
Workwise is deliberately different. You deal directly with a senior practitioner who has spent more than a decade inside complex, high-pressure HR and industrial relations environments, including FIFO operations, trades and growing professional-services businesses across WA. They know your people and your business by name.
You get a clear yes or no. No "it depends" without telling you what it depends on and what we'd do.
When a situation is heated, we lower the temperature. Composure protects you legally and protects your relationships.
Advice that works on a worksite or in a busy office, not just in a textbook.
We don't only fix today's problem. We build the structure so the next one is easier.
Each of these has its own guide in our HR Resources library.
Drafting and reviewing contracts that fit how your business actually operates. See employment contracts.
Working out which Modern Award applies, what it requires, and whether your pay and rostering comply.
Structured, fair processes, from performance management through to managing misconduct.
Getting terminations, redundancies and probation outcomes right.
Independent, procedurally fair investigations into complaints and allegations.
Responding to unfair dismissal and general protections claims, and representation where it's needed. If your needs are more IR-focused, see industrial relations consulting.
If you'd like ongoing support instead of one-off help, see outsourced HR in Perth. If you run a smaller team, our page on HR support for small business is written for you.
Some businesses need a single problem solved. Others want a senior HR partner on call. We offer both, and for ongoing support we use three package levels so you know what you're getting.
The core infrastructure: contracts, policies, Award coverage and a baseline compliance check.
Everything in Foundations plus ongoing advisory support for performance, conduct and employee-relations issues as they arise.
Workwise as your senior HR partner, including investigations support, Fair Work matters and regular strategic review.
Every package is a starting point and not a ceiling. We scope it to your business. See the detail on our Packages page.
The easiest first step is a free 30-minute HR Health Check. It's a conversation, not a sales pitch. We'll talk through your current situation, identify your biggest risk areas and give you honest guidance on where to focus first. You'll walk away with clarity whether you engage us or not. If we think you don't need a consultant, we'll tell you that too. Learn more about the free HR Health Check.
An HR consultant typically helps with specific issues or projects: a termination, a contract review, an investigation. An outsourced HR provider takes on HR as an ongoing function, acting as your external HR department. The work overlaps, and many businesses start with one-off help and move to an ongoing arrangement. Workwise offers both. See outsourced HR in Perth.
It depends on what you need. Project work (a contract review, a one-off investigation) is scoped and priced for that job. Ongoing support is priced as a package. We'll tell you which model suits you, and what it would cost, at your free 30-minute review, so you know the number before you commit to anything.
Often the office manager is doing a great job on the day-to-day: onboarding, leave, payroll queries. The gap tends to be on the higher-risk work: dismissals, Award interpretation, investigations and Fair Work claims. Those carry real legal exposure and are rarely something an administrator should carry alone. A consultant backs them up rather than replacing them.
For most small and medium businesses, yes. A full-time HR manager is a significant fixed salary, and a business with fewer than 100 employees often doesn't have enough HR work to use that capacity fully, or the complexity to justify a senior hire. A consultant gives you senior expertise exactly when you need it. The break-even point is different for every business, and we'll give you an honest view of where you sit.
Yes. We work with employers across Western Australia, including regional and remote operations, FIFO and mining businesses. Most of our work is done by phone, video and email, so location rarely matters. Where an on-site presence helps, we'll talk through it with you.
General information current at November 2026. It is not legal advice, and the right answer depends on your circumstances.
30 minutes. No obligation. We'll tell you where to focus, and whether Workwise is the right fit.
Book Free 30-Min Call →Prefer to talk it through? Call 0488 084 886 or email contact@work-wise.com.au.