19 March, 2024
The Closing Loopholes Act 2023 and Closing Loopholes No. 2 Act 2024 are changing the laws affecting Australian workplaces and include new protections and modifications aimed at safeguarding workers and promoting business growth.
Some of the changes relevant to the work of the Fair Work Commission include:
- empowering the Commission to consider applications relating to some labour hire workers
- amendments to the general protections provisions to:
- strengthen protection for employees who have been, or are being, subjected to family and domestic violence from discrimination in the workplace
- introduce a general protection for workplace delegates when carrying out their role at a workplace
- empowering the Commission to make a model term for modern awards relating to delegate rights
- making amendments to provisions regarding protected action ballot order conferences.
- changes to the definition of casual employee and changes to casual conversion
- changes to the definition of employment
- changes to intractable bargaining provisions
- changes to enterprise bargaining provisions relating to multi-enterprise agreements and franchisees
- a process for the Commission to make model terms for enterprise agreements
- powers relating to 'employee-like' workers performing digital platform work in the gig economy including:
- the ability to make minimum standards orders
- dealing with employee-like worker disputes about unfair deactivation from a digital platform
- powers relating to the road transport industry including:
- the ability for new Expert Panels to make minimum standards orders
- dealing with regulated road transport worker disputes about unfair termination of a contract
- powers to register collective agreements relating to regulated workers
- functions relating to a right to disconnect including:
- a new dispute function
- a process for the Commission to make a model term for awards
- an ‘unfair contracts’ dispute resolution function for independent contractors (below a high-income threshold)
- workplace delegates' rights for regulated workers
Changes outlined in the Closing Loopholes Act 2023 and Closing Loopholes No. 2 Act 2024 have phased commencement dates as outlined below.
For further details, please visit https://www.fwc.gov.au/about-us/closing-loopholes-acts-whats-changing or view the fact sheets here https://www.dewr.gov.au/closing-loopholes.
