One of the most pressing labour issues of the new decade has been the nature of internships – what guidelines employers should adhere to, what’s fair on the interns, and where the line between intern and employee lies.

It’s become a particularly important debate in an age where the job market for new university graduates seems to be at its most anaemic in decades and fields like the music industry become increasingly littered with jobs rewarded with ‘exposure’ and little else.

The latest outlet to fall under scrutiny is Splendour In The Grass. In a recent article, BuzzFeed Australia claimed that the Australian music festival’s ad for a six-month “unpaid internship” breaches Fair Work Guidelines.

The internship is “designed to give the applicant exposure to the music industry”. The successful applicant would possess “intermediate” administrative skills and abilities in a range of different areas.

Working from Splendour’s Byron Bay headquarters (applicants willing to make the move will be considered), the intern would be coming in for six months for a minimum of three days a week. The internship was specifically designed with Fair Work Guidelines in mind.

According to Fair Work Guidelines, it’s considered an “employee relationship” if “there is a commitment to perform work for the benefit of the business or organisation”. In other words, it has to be exclusively an educational experience for the intern.

“Given [the Splendour internship’s] duration, the commitment expected, and the fact that it seems to require productive work that the organisation would otherwise need to pay someone to do, it certainly looks like employment, not work experience,” Professor Andrew Stewart from Adelaide University Law School told BuzzFeed.

“If the internship is formally linked to an education or training course, then it’s OK for the work to be unpaid,” said Stewart. “But I couldn’t see any mention of that.” However, Splendour have dismissed claims the internship breaches Fair Work Guidelines.

“We would like to make it very clear that the internship offered complies with Fair Work Guidelines and strictly operates within these guidelines, and also under the watchful eye of our legal counsel, to ensure that good practice is adhered to!” Splendour General Manager Elise Huntley told Tone Deaf.

“Our current staffing levels meet the requirements of our business, therefore there is not a need for any additional employees at this time.”

“However, we appreciate that there are many benefits attached to an internship or work experience program, so we have chosen to offer this opportunity, not to fill a paid role, nor to exploit an individual in any way, but to provide a valuable learning experience to somebody interested in working in the music industry.”

“The intern / work experience participant will garner skills that will first and foremost provide them with extensive learnings in the organisation of a large scale music festival, but will also provide them with exposure to other areas of the organisation that may ultimately become of interest to them in pursuing a career in the industry.”

“They will learn other important general skills to help them in the workforce such as working within a team, time management, networking, people skills, values and business practices to name but a few.”

[include_post id=”465803″]

“We can unequivocally state that in at least 90% of instances where internships have been offered across our various businesses, these interns have continued on with our organisation in paid roles, and we remain committed to their continued success and growth in our business.”

“A number of other music and entertainment businesses offer unpaid internships, so it is disappointing that Splendour is being singled out.” Indeed, even a cursory glance at the literature shows that unpaid internships are the name of the game in music.

Over on social media, the controversial ad has divided opinion. While some say unpaid internships are simply par for the course and part of ‘paying your dues’, others are incensed at the thought of having to work without pay.

Get unlimited access to the coverage that shapes our culture.
to Rolling Stone magazine
to Rolling Stone magazine