✦ Plain-English Summary

Fair Work Amendment (Supporting Australia's Jobs and Economic Recovery) Bill 2020

What it does

This bill loosens workplace rules to make it easier for employers to hire casuals, change how many hours part-time workers do, and negotiate enterprise agreements (workplace deals between employers and staff). It also strengthens enforcement against wage theft and dodgy employment arrangements.

Why it matters

The changes make hiring more flexible during economic downturns, which employers say helps them keep people employed. However, they also reduce protections for casual and part-time workers—for example, making it harder to prove you deserve permanent work even if you've been doing the same job for years.

Key details

• Casual workers: Employers can now more easily keep workers as casuals without converting them to permanent roles, even if they work regular, predictable hours
• Part-time hours: Employers can direct part-timers to work additional hours beyond their agreed contract more easily
• Enterprise agreements: Weakens the "better off overall test" (which checked if deals were fair to workers), and makes it easier for bosses and employees to approve agreements that might not meet that standard
• Cracking down on wage theft: Creates criminal offences for deliberately underpaying workers and gives the Fair Work Ombudsman stronger powers to investigate and enforce rules

Official Description

Amends the: Fair Work Act 2009 in relation to: defining casual employment; including a casual conversion entitlement in the National Employment Standards; providing a Casual Employment Information Statement to casual employees; offsetting casual loading amounts against claims for leave and other entitlements in certain circumstances; additional hours for part-time employees; flexible work directions; enterprise agreement making and approval processes; extending the nominal life of greenfields agreements relating to the construction of major projects; the compliance and enforcement framework; Fair Work Commission processes; and consequential amendments; Fair Work (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 2009 to provide for the cessation of certain agreement based transitional instruments on 1 July 2022; Building and Construction Industry (Improving Productivity) Act 2016 to: enable the Australian Building and Construction Commissioner to accept an enforceable undertaking in relation to a suspected remuneration-related contravention; and require the commissioner to publish certain information in relation to enforcement proceedings; Building and Construction Industry (Improving Productivity) Act 2016 and Federal Court of Australia Act 1976 to make consequential amendments; and Fair Work Act 2009 and Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia Act 2020 to make amendments contingent on the commencement of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia Act 2020 .

Committee Referrals

Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee; Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills; Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights

No formal division recorded

This bill passed by voice vote — parliament agreed without calling a formal count. A division is only recorded when a member explicitly requests one.

No votes yet.

No votes were recorded for this bill.