LEGAL ALERT
Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Act 2022 – Effective dates of changes
9 December 2022
* Note the information in this Alert takes account of the passage of the Bill on 2 December 2022 and subsequent Royal Assent.
The Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Act 2022 (the FW Act) received royal assent on 6 December 2022.
The FW Act provides for significant changes to workplace laws in Australia which relate to, for example, multi-employer bargaining, fixed-term contracts, gender equality, discrimination protections and pay secrecy clauses.
The table below provides some of the key changes under the FW Act and when they will take effect.
| Changes to the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FW Act) | Effective date of change |
| Bargaining disputes | 6 June 2023, or an earlier date to be fixed by proclamation |
| Better Off Overall Test (BOOT) | 6 June 2023, or an earlier date to be fixed by proclamation
Changes will then apply to any enterprise agreement ‘made’ (i.e. voted up by employees) on or after commencement. |
| Cooperative workplaces bargaining stream | 6 June 2023, or an earlier date to be fixed by proclamation |
| Initiating bargaining – single enterprise agreements | 7 December 2022 |
| National Construction Industry Forum | 1 July 2023 |
| Single interest bargaining stream | 6 June 2023, or an earlier date to be fixed by proclamation |
| Simplifying enterprise agreement approval requirements | 6 June 2023, or an earlier date to be fixed by proclamation
Changes will then apply to any proposed agreement for which the ‘notification time’ occurs before commencement. |
| Sunsetting of zombie agreements | 7 December 2022 |
| Supported Bargaining stream | 6 June 2023, or an earlier date to be fixed by proclamation |
| Termination of enterprise agreements after nominal expiry date | 7 December 2022 |
| Establishing two new Expert Panels in the Fair Work Commission | 6 March 2023, or an earlier date to be fixed by proclamation |
| Including gender equality and job security in the objects of the FW Act | 7 December 2022 |
| Limiting the use of fixed term contracts | 6 December 2023, or an earlier date to be fixed by proclamation |
| Prohibiting pay secrecy clauses | 7 December 2022
From 7 June 2023, it will be an offence for an employer to enter into a new employment contract with an employee that contains a pay secrecy clause. |
| Equal remuneration provisions | 7 December 2022 |
| Right to flexible working arrangements | 7 June 2023 |
| Unpaid parental leave | 7 June 2023 |
| Amending the FW Act small claims process | The amendments are complemented by a review of the small claims procedure under the FW Act to consider broader reforms, which will take place in 2023.
The changes relating to the increase of the small claims cap and filing fees will come into effect on 1 July 2023. The review of the small claims procedure will begin on 1 January 2023. |
| Prohibiting job advertisements that would breach the FW Act | 7 December 2022, and apply to jobs being advertised on or after 7 January 2023, whether or not the same job has first been advertised before that date. |
| Improving workers’ compensation outcomes for firefighters | 7 December 2022 |
| Prohibiting sexual harassment in the FW Act | 6 March 2023 |
| Strengthening protections against discrimination | 7 December 2022 |
| Abolishing the Australian Building and Construction Commission | The Code for the Tendering and Performance of Building Work 2016 (the Building Code) has been repealed. The abolition of the Australian Building and Construction Commission will occur no later than two months after the Act received Royal Assent (6 February 2023). |
| Abolishing the Registered Organisations Commission | No later than 6 June 2023, or an earlier date to be fixed by proclamation. |
How does this impact employers?
Employers should review their employment contracts, policies and template documents before the abovementioned dates to ensure compliance with the legislation and ensure there is no breach of the provisions, which may attract penalties.
EMA can assist employers with reviewing their template documents and policies and answer any queries regarding the new legislation.
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