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IR Reform Hub

The Federal Government has introduced into Parliament the biggest IR reforms in more than a decade which will have an impact on all Australian businesses.

The team here at Australian Business Lawyers & Advisors are committed to providing the latest information for employers and the business community. We have compiled a central hub of resources which you can access below.

If you have a specific question that you can't find in these resources, get in touch with Australian Business Lawyers & Advisors (ABLA) on 1300 565 846 or info@ablawyers.com.au.

Latest News

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Fixed term contracts and limits on freedom of contract

The Fair Work Act has expanded significantly, now surpassing 1500 pages, adding more complexity and regulatory burden for Australian businesses.
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Opting for Independence and out of the new ‘Employee’ Definition

The government has now introduced the Fair Work Amendment (Contractor High Income Threshold) Regulation which sets the new contractor high income threshold.

Government releases new contractor high income threshold

The long awaited new ‘contractor high income threshold’ has today been set at $175,000 under the new Fair Work Amendment (Contractor High Income Threshold) Regulations 2024.

Workplace delegates’ rights and union right of entry

This one hour session covers the Fair Work Commission's (FWC) much-anticipated updates to delegates' rights, effective since 1 July.

Navigating the new right to disconnect laws

In less than a month of the most controversial changes coming out of the Closing Loopholes reforms, the right to disconnect, will commence.

Upcoming changes to casual employment

Do you employ casuals? If you do, it is critical that you are aware of some upcoming changes, commencing on 26 August 2024, which impact how casual employment operates in Australia.

New Delegates' Rights Term in all Modern Awards

The Fair Work Commission (FWC) has released its much-anticipated delegates' rights term which has been inserted into every modern award. The new delegates' rights term takes effect from today, 1 July 2024.
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Independent Contractors

Do you engage any independent contractors in your business? The recent updates from the Closing Loopholes legislation have triggered a need for business to understand the new definitions and criteria for classifying workers as employees or independent contractors under the Fair Work Act.
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Navigating Major Changes in Casual Employment

As part of the Closing the Loopholes Bill, a new definition of casual employment has been introduced into the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (Act) with the changes set to have a significant impact on businesses.

Draft Model Delegates’ Rights Term

One of the most controversial changes coming out of the Closing Loopholes legislation is the newly enshrined rights and protections for workplace (union) delegates representing employees in the workplace under the Fair Work Act.
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IR Reforms Webcast: The new workplace law landscape

2024 will see the roll out of a number of significant changes to workplace laws which will impact the way in which organisations conduct their business. Understanding how to navigate these changes will help you prioritise and minimise legal damage.

Employees have a ‘Right’ to ‘Disconnect’

One of the key reforms passed yesterday by the Federal Government as part of the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes) Bill No 2 2024, was the ‘right’ for employees to 'disconnect’.
 
The use of the phrase disconnect is a little misleading as the new right is in effect a right to ‘refuse’ or ‘ignore’.
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UPDATED Contracts: Casuals and Contractors

The Federal Government has now passed its third tranche of landmark IR reforms in the form of the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes) Bill No 2 2024 (the Closing Loopholes Bill). 

UPDATED Pay and Unions

The Federal Government has now passed its third tranche of landmark IR reforms in the form of the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes) Bill No 2 2024. 
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UPDATED Road Transport

The Federal Government has now passed its third tranche of landmark IR reforms in the form of the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes No 2) Bill 2024.
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Parliament passes part of the Closing Loopholes Bill

The Senate and House of Representatives yesterday passed part of the Fair Work Amendment (Closing Loopholes) Bill 2023.
The changes bring in some of the reforms that have been widely publicised (and the subject of previous alerts by ABLA), with other reforms still to be debated into the New Year.
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What you need to know about latest tranche of IR Reforms

On 4 September 2023 the Federal Government introduced to Parliament the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes) Bill 2023 (the Bill); the third tranche of significant reforms to Australia’s workplace relations and industrial laws.
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Third Tranche IR Reforms Webcast

On 4 September 2023, the Federal Government announced the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes) Bill 2023 which introduces a series of further reforms to Australia’s workplace relations and industrial laws.
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IR Reforms - Road Transport

The Federal Government has introduced into Parliament a third tranche of landmark IR reforms in the form of the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes) Bill 2023 (the Closing Loopholes Bill). 
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IR Reforms - Pay and Unions

The Federal Government has introduced into Parliament a third tranche of landmark IR reforms in the form of the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes) Bill 2023 (Closing Loopholes Bill).
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IR Reforms - Contracts: Casuals and Contractors

The Federal Government has introduced into Parliament a third tranche of landmark IR reforms in the form of the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes) Bill 2023 (the Closing Loopholes Bill).
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IR Reform Update: Job Security

The Federal Government has now passed its Pay Equity and Secure Jobs Bill.
This is ABLA’s third article on the Bill, which focuses exclusively on those reforms that broadly relate to the Government’s ‘Job Security’ agenda.
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IR Reform Update: Pay Equity

The Federal Government has introduced into Parliament landmark IR reforms that will have an impact on all workplaces across Australia as part of its Secure Jobs and Better Pay Bill 2022.
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IR Reform Update: Enterprise Bargaining

The Parliament has today passed the Secure Jobs and Better Pay Bill 2022. The Bill is set to become an operative law in a matter of days, although some aspects have deferred start dates.
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Employer Update: IR Reform

The landmark IR reforms introduced by the Federal Government in October have now been made law. 
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Insights into the seismic shift in IR reform

On 27 October 2022, the Federal Government introduced into Parliament landmark IR reforms that will have an impact on all workplaces across Australia as part of its Pay Equity and Secure Jobs Bill.
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IR Reform Series: Flexible Work Arrangements

Following the Jobs and Skills Summit, the Federal Government announced it will be taking “immediate action” to make changes to the Fair Work Act to provide “stronger access for flexible working”.

IR Reform Series: Multi-Employer Bargaining

An article explaining what is multi-employer bargaining, its advantages and disadvantages, and what the Federal Government plans to do.
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IR Reform Series: Limitations on Fixed-Term Contracts

One of the focuses of the Jobs and Skills Summit was boosting job security and wages. 
The Issues Paper prepared by Treasury arising from the Summit identified that alongside labour hire, casual and gig economy work, fixed-term employment arrangements are being viewed as a matter that negatively impacts on job security and wages.
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IR Reform Series: Simplifying the BOOT

The “better off overall test” (BOOT) is an important safeguard in enterprise bargaining.  The BOOT ensures that the terms and conditions an employee would receive under an enterprise agreement are better off overall than what they would otherwise receive under the relevant modern award.
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IR Reform Series: EA Terminations

The Federal Government has announced it will reform provisions of the Fair Work Act which allow enterprise agreements (EAs) to be terminated by employers without employee agreement when the EAs have passed their nominal expiry date.
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