Home and Away has just implemented a behind-the-scenes change to a long-standing practice right as the show hits pause for the Christmas period.
The long-running Aussie soap has just seen the Seven Network made a big decision over its writers’ jobs and security as the script department have been promoted to rolling fixed-term arrangements to permanent employment (via Variety Australia).
The news comes after months of advocacy from the Australian Writers’ Guild (AWG), who lobbied to put a stop to the practice of ending contracts as the soap paused production over Christmas.
AWG Director of Industrial and Policy Bryant Apolonio said the contract lapses left script personnel without pay or job security at the exact moment the show went on hiatus.
“The Australian Writers Guild and the Seven Network came to an agreement about moving our members on the script department team to permanent employment contracts,” Apolonio said.
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“Previously, those members were engaged in fixed-term contracts that terminated in December of each year, and then were reissued in January the following year, leaving the writers without pay or employment during the holiday period.”
The decision follows the 2022 amendments to the Fair Work Act, which restrict the use of fixed-term contracts, with soap writers asking whether the changes applied to their roles.
“The Fair Work Act was amended in 2022 to prohibit certain kinds of fixed-term contracts. The members came to the guild for advice on whether those changes applied to them, and we thought that they did,” he said.
“Together, we raised the issue with Seven, and they ultimately agreed to transition the employees to permanent contracts,” he continued, explaining that the shift to permanent positions comes with benefits, “including payment for the public holidays that fell during the 2024 production break periods”.
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Meanwhile, the soap has given fans a glimpse of what lies ahead for the characters after the train accident.
Ending on a dramatic cliffhanger before the Christmas break, Home and Away will resume on 19 January 2026 in the aftermath of the crash. As multiple characters are trapped inside a tunnel, Levi Fowler and Tane Parata push against police orders to go help their loved ones.
The soap will also take a look at the Outback as fan-favourite characters Darryl “Brax” Braxton and Ricky Sharpe are back for a Western Australia storyline.