Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes) Bill 2023

The Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes) Bill 2023 ("Closing Loopholes Bill") was introduced into the Australian Parliament on 4 September 2023. It has been referred to a Senate Committee which reports back on the 1 February 2024. It proposes these key changes:

• A new casual employee definition for the FW Act.
• A new employee choice notification pathway for casual employees to change to part-time or full-time employment, which operates in tandem with the casual conversion process.
• A new prohibition on casual employment sham arrangements.
• The implementation of the Government’s ‘Same Job Same Pay Policy’.
• A new definition of ‘employee’ and 'employer' for the FW Act.
• A revised 'reasonable belief' defence for sham independent contractor arrangements.
• A new criminal offence for intentional underpayments.
• Increasing maximum civil penalty amounts by 5 times for underpayment-related contraventions and providing an alternative of 3 times the underpayment amount if higher than the maximum civil penalty amounts.
• Lowering the threshold for serious contraventions of civil penalty provisions.
• Removing the small business redundancy exemption for statutory redundancy payments
  (in limited circumstances).
• New rights for union delegates in the workplace.
• Union right of entry without notice in connection with suspected underpayments.
• Changes to bargaining laws
• Changes to Commonwealth work health safety laws, workers compensation and addressing silica-related diseases.

The Closing Loopholes Bill webpage can be found here.

Ai Group submissions

Ai Group continues to be heavily engaged in consultation with the Government over the development of its proposed legislation. 

Although most of this consultation has been required by Government to be undertaken on a confidential basis, we are able to share the following submissions that we have provided to the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations in relation to the third tranche of reforms to Fair Work legislation:

• Inquiry into the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes) Bill 2023
• DEWR: April consultation on WR measures being considered for introduction in the second half of 2023
• Updating the Fair Work Act 2009 to provide stronger protections for workers against discrimination
• Response to 'Same Job, Same Pay' consultation paper
• National Labour Hire Regulation
• Response to Criminalising wage underpayments and reforming civil penalties Consultation paper
• Submissions to DEWR: Employee-like work, road transport and protections for contractors

Media releases and speeches

The latest media information and speeches regarding the third tranche of reforms to the Fair Work laws:

• Opening Statement: Senate Inquiry into the Fair Work Amendment (Closing Loopholes) Bill 2023
• Parliament should reject deeply flawed IR Bill
• Nothing in IR changes to create jobs, increase wages or boost productivity
• Innes Willox: Comment on proposed third tranche of workplace relations legislation
• Closing the “Casual Loophole”: A Solution in Search of a Problem
• Innes Willox address to National Press Club: Industrial Relations 'Reform' – the risks of unjustified changes and the need for a better approach
• Opinion: Restricting casual employment opportunities would be economically dangerous
• Innes Willox speech: The Government’s Industrial Relations Agenda
• Ai Group opposes criminal penalties for the underpayment of wages
• IR Changes – Wrong measures for the wrong times

Members who wish to discuss the Government’s reform agenda, should contact Brent Ferguson, Ai Group’s Head of National Workplace Relations Policy.