News

The passage of the Fair Work Amendment (Abolition of 4 Yearly Reviews of Modern Awards and Other Measures) Bill 2017 Bill through Parliament has been complicated due to a Labor proposal to amend the Bill to include provisions which would overturn the Fair Work Commission’s (FWC) Penalty Rates Decision in February 2017.

On 19 October 2017, the Federal Government introduced the Fair Work Laws Amendment (Proper Use of Worker Benefits) Bill 2017 into Parliament. The Bill addresses concerns about money that is contributed to worker entitlement funds by employers for the benefit of their own employees, being siphoned off by unions. This was a key issue pursued throughout the recent Heydon Royal Commission as well as during the earlier Cole Royal Commission.

The Queensland Labour Hire Licensing Act 2017 has been passed by the Queensland Parliament. Earlier this year, Ai Group made a detailed submission to a Parliamentary inquiry into the Bill, expressing strong opposition to the proposed legislation. Given the passage of the legislation through Parliament, Ai Group is now pressing for some highly problematic aspects of the scope of the legislation to be addressed through regulations.

Important new requirements came into operation under the Code for the Tendering and Performance of Building Work 2016 (Building Code 2016) on 1 September 2017.

The FWC has not yet determined the specific terms of the model casual conversion clause to implement the Commission’s July 2017 decision in the Casual and Part-time Employment Case. Ai Group played the leading role in representing employers in the case, which...

On 31 October, Ai Group filed its submission and evidence in the FWC’s Family Friendly Work Arrangements Case after months of detailed and hard work. Ai Group’s main submission is about 350 pages long and, in addition, hundreds of pages of witness statements and other...

On 1 October 2017, Ai Group filed a further submission in the FWC’s Family and Domestic Violence Leave Case. The submission addresses the “preliminary view” expressed by the Majority of the Full Bench that all award-covered employees should have access to unpaid...

On 25 August 2017, Ai Group appeared before a Senate Committee which inquired into the Greens’ Fair Work Amendment (Pay Protection) Bill 2017. In its submission to the inquiry, Ai Group expressed opposition to the Bill given the uncertainty that it would create and...

The Fair Work Amendment (Abolition of 4 Yearly Reviews of Modern Awards and Other Measures) Bill 2017 was listed for debate during the August and September 2017 Parliamentary sittings but the Parliament did not have time to deal with the Bill. The Bill would: Abolish...

A three-member Fair Work Commission Full Bench in Farstad Shipping (Indian Pacific) Pty Ltd T/A Farstad v Mr Jurgen Rust; Mr Jurgen Rust v Farstad Shipping (Indian Pacific) Pty Ltd T/A Farstad [2017] FWCFB 4738 has quashed Commissioner Bissett’s decision  (Jurgen Rust...