A recent decision of the Federal Court is a reminder that employers will face serious consequences for underpaying their employees, especially if they are found to have committed a serious contravention(s) of the Act. In Fair Work Ombudsman v Commonwealth Bank of Australia [2024] FCA 81, the

As employers continue to grapple with significant but piecemeal amendments to the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (Act), further changes were passed by Parliament yesterday. This article considers the broadest and arguably most controversial of the changes – the right for employees to disconnect from work. In time,

On 14 December 2023, the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes) Act 2023 (Closing Loopholes Act) received Royal Assent. This Alert is the first of a series, which reviews and summarises the changes beginning with that concerning regulated labour hire arrangements. From when and what are the changes?

The South Australian Parliament has passed the Work Health and Safety (Industrial Manslaughter) Amendment Bill 2023 (Bill). The Bill will amend the Work, Health and Safety Act 2012 (SA) (WHS Act) to criminalise industrial manslaughter in South Australia. Under the new laws, a person (being a person conducting a business

Employers are reminded of the upcoming changes to the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FW Act) in respect of the use of fixed-term contracts (effective 6 December 2023) and the sunsetting of ‘zombie’ agreements (effective 7 December 2023). Fixed-term contracts From 6 December 2023, unless an exception applies (refer

As per our previous legal alerts on 13 December 2022 and 30 March 2023, the new laws with respect to sexual harassment are now in place. Recent disputes in the Fair Work Commission (the Commission) have tested the new provisions in the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) […]

Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke has officially tabled the “Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes) Bill 2023” which proposes to amend legislation including the Fair Work Act (FW Act) 2009. If passed in its current form, what has been proposed has the potential for significant and far-reaching impact […]

Industrial Relations Ministers across Australia have agreed to produce a model for uniform labour hire regulation, to be considered by the end of this year. Labour hire providers, being businesses that provide workers to another host business, may currently be required to hold a license in […]

Working from home arrangements are agreements between workers and their employers in which workers work from their own home, alone or with other household members present. Such arrangements may be temporary or permanent which generally provides the benefit of flexibility to the worker and/or the employer. […]