The IR laws of legislative nonsense

This is the final analysis of the Albanese governments strange new IR laws.

This is the third and final assessment for you of the Albanese government’s new world of industrial relations. This assessment covers the remaining three elements of the strange ‘employee-like’ laws that need to be understood and which I haven’t so far discussed.

Photo by Mor Shani on Unsplash

The parts I’m covering below are legislative provisions covering (a) unfairness grounds and unfair contracts (b) unfair deactivation.

1.     First, a quick recap for you!

The Albanese government pushed through two major pieces of new industrial relations laws.

Late 2022: I summarised these changes in ‘Enter the new deal-making’,

And that covered.

• Same-Job Same-Pay under labour hire

• ‘Model’ terms for enterprise agreements

• Enterprise agreement for one = enterprise agreement for all

• Workplace delegates’ rights

• Right to disconnect

• Casual conversion to full/part-time

• Definition of casual work

Early 2024 – The ‘Loophole’ Act: I summarised/detailed these changes in  A strange case of (IR) laws about nothing?

• Under the term ‘employee-like’ the laws create IR jurisdiction over self-employed gig workers, and owner drivers.

• The Fair Work Commission can impose ‘minimum standard’ orders and guidelines and collective agreements.

• Two new bodies are created for owner drivers being an ‘Expert’ Panel a Road Transport Advisory Group.

• I detailed which self-employed can’t be regulated.

• What terms in orders are excluded and what terms included.

• Intersection with competition law and commercial issues.

You’ll gather from the above that the Albanese government is not tinkering with changing the industrial relations laws. Rather the changes are BIG!

I’ll now cover the final ‘bits’ of the late 2024 legislation.

Remember (again) that I’m not a lawyer. My explanations and analysis seek to provide some comprehension from a practical ‘on the ground’, ‘how it applies’ perspective. I hope my perspectives provide you some common-sense understandings.

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