New Bill Introduced To Amend Fair Work Legislation

The federal government has now released the third tranche of proposed workplace relations reform in the form of the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes) Bill 2023 (Cth) (Closing Loopholes Bill). 

On 4 September 2023, the Closing Loopholes Bill was introduced to the house of representatives. This bill aims to make further changes to the Fair Work Act 2009 (cth) by including some of the labor party's election promises and addressing issues discussed during the jobs and skills summit held last year.

The closing loopholes bill presents a range of significant reforms, such as:

•     Amend the definition of 'casual employee' and allow eligible workers to switch to permanent employment if they choose.
•     Increase penalties for underpayments by reviewing civil penalties and criteria for serious contraventions.
•     Allow the Fair Work Commission (FWC) to mediate disputes over unfair terms in service contracts for independent contractors.
•     Create a new criminal offense for intentional wage theft  proposing a maximum term of 10 years jail and fines up to $7.8 million or three times the amount of the underpayment.
•     Clarify the definitions of 'employee' and 'employer' based on the actual nature of the employment relationship.
•     Give the FWC the authority to set fair minimum standards for workers in the gig economy and road transport sector.
•     Ensure that labor hire workers are paid the same as agreed upon in enterprise agreements with the help of the FWC.
•     Union officials will have the power to apply for inspections of members' pay records without warning, if they suspect underpayments.
•     Introduce a new offense of industrial manslaughter to improve workplace safety under the Work Health and Safety Act of 2011 (cth).

The implementation of this plan depends on the approval and enactment of relevant laws (likely early in 2024) and are designed to strengthen worker protections, address wage-related challenges, and enhance workplace safety standards, which means businesses will need to have a sound understanding of these changes as the implications for non-compliance will be very costly.

For further information please visit the link below or contact our hr team on 07 3273 0800.

Closing Loopholes Bill