Statement of Service Template (Australia): What to Include, Who Signs It and a Copy-Ready Letter

A statement of service is a short letter from an employer, on the business letterhead, confirming that a person works or worked there, in what role and between which dates. This page sets out what goes in one, gives you a template you can copy, and explains who signs it. If you would rather have it written for you, Claim Done prepares the Statement of Service itself for a flat A$29: you answer a few plain questions and get the letter ready for the employer to check and sign.

It works whether you are the employee who needs one or the employer, manager or HR person who has been asked to write one.

What is a statement of service?

It is a record of employment, not an opinion. It confirms facts: that the person was employed, their job title, whether the job was full time, part time or casual, and the start and finish dates (or that they still work there). People are asked for one for a new job, a visa or skills assessment, a licence or registration, a rental application, a loan, or to have earlier service recognised by a new employer.

It is not a reference. A reference says how good someone was at the job. A statement of service says only what the job was and when. That is why most employers are comfortable signing one: there is nothing in it to argue about.

What should a statement of service include?

No law sets the contents, so include what the person or body asking for it needs. One that a new employer, visa officer, lender or landlord can rely on usually has:

• the employer’s letterhead, with the business name, ABN and contact details;
• the date the statement is signed;
• the employee’s full name;
• the job title, and each earlier title if the role changed;
• the type of employment: full time, part time or casual;
• the start date and the finish date, or a line saying the person is still employed;
• the usual hours per week, where they are asked for;
• the main duties, where they are asked for;
• pay, only where whoever asked for the statement needs it;
• the name, job title and signature of the person signing for the employer, and a phone number or email so the statement can be checked.

Visa and skills assessments usually ask for the hours, duties and pay as well as the dates. Each body publishes its own checklist. Read the checklist from whoever asked you and make sure every item on it is in the statement before it is signed.

Leave out the reason the job ended, anything about health or family, and any comment on performance. None of it belongs in a statement of service.

Statement of service template

Copy this layout onto the employer’s letterhead and replace each part in square brackets. Delete any line that is not needed.

[Business name]
ABN [number]

[Date]

Subject: Statement of service for [employee’s full name]

To whom it may concern,

We confirm that [employee’s full name] [was employed / is currently employed] by [business name].

Position: [job title]
Type of employment: [full time / part time / casual]
Period of employment: [start date] to [finish date / the present]
Usual hours: [hours] a week
Pay: [only if required]

Main duties: [the main duties of the job, in a sentence or a short list]

This statement is made from our records. To confirm it, please contact [name], [job title], on [phone or email].

Yours faithfully,

[Signature]
[Name]
[Job title]
[Date]

If the role changed during the employment, repeat the position, type and period lines for each role, with its own dates.

Prefer not to fill it in yourself? Get your Statement of Service written for A$29. It follows this layout, keeps to the facts you give, and comes with signature and date lines for the employer.

Who writes it and who signs it?

The employer signs it: an owner, a manager, or someone in HR or payroll who can check the dates against the records. A statement of service has to come from the employer to be worth anything to the person reading it.

That does not mean the employer has to write it from scratch. The quickest way to get one is often to hand over a statement that is already written and correct, and ask the employer to check it, print it on letterhead and sign it. A busy manager who would put off writing a letter will usually sign one that only needs a check.

Does an employer have to give a statement of service?

No general law makes an employer write one. Ask politely, say what it is for and when you need it, and make it easy to say yes. Do not tell an employer they are required to provide it.

An Employment Separation Certificate is different. That is the Services Australia form Centrelink asks for, and an employer must provide it when a former employee asks. If that is what you need, see how to get a separation certificate or statement of service from your employer.

How do I ask for one?

1. Find out exactly what the reader needs. A new employer usually wants the role and dates. A visa or skills assessment usually wants hours, duties and pay as well.
2. Write the statement, or have it written, with every one of those details filled in.
3. Send it to the person most likely to act: payroll or HR in a larger business, the owner or your old manager in a small one. Say what it is for and the date you need it by.
4. Ask them to check it against their records, change anything that is wrong, print it on letterhead, sign it and send it back as a PDF.

If the business has closed or will not answer, pay slips, a contract, payment summaries and tax records can show the same employment. Ask whoever requested the statement what they will accept instead.

What does Claim Done’s Statement of Service do, and what does it cost?

It costs a flat A$29, including GST. You answer about a dozen short questions: who the employee and the employer are, the role, the dates, the hours and duties, and who will sign. The statement is usually ready in about 5 minutes. It states only the facts you give, with no opinions and no praise, so it reads as a record an employer is comfortable signing.

You read it first on your dashboard and can change any wording. Then you download the PDF for the employer to check, put on letterhead and sign. We do not send it to anyone.

Start your Statement of Service