Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Protecting Worker Entitlements) 2023

✦ Plain-English Summary

# Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Protecting Worker Entitlements) 2023

## What it does
This bill makes eight separate changes to Australian workplace laws, mainly protecting workers' pay and entitlements. The changes cover everything from stopping dodgy deductions from your pay, to fixing superannuation contributions, to giving migrant workers better protections, and updating long service leave rules for coal miners.

## Why it matters
These changes are designed to stop employers from ripping workers off through unpaid leave, incorrect super payments, or illegal deductions from their wages. It's especially important for migrant workers who are often more vulnerable to exploitation.

## Key details

- **Migrant workers get stronger protections** — the bill adds new rules specifically to prevent migrant workers being underpaid or having their entitlements dodged (kicks in the day after the bill passes)

- **Unpaid parental leave becomes an official entitlement** — workers will have the right to unpaid parental leave, starting 1 July 2023

- **Superannuation contributions get fixed** — employers must contribute super correctly to workers' accounts, with changes rolling out from early 2024

- **Pay deductions get stricter rules** — employers can't make certain deductions from your pay without proper permission (6 months after the bill passes)

- **Coal miners' long service leave scheme updates** — special rules for the coal mining industry get modernised

Official Description

Amends the: Fair Work Act 2009 to: provide that a breach of the Migration Act 1958 does not affect the validity of a contract of employment or contract for services for the purposes of the Act; enable employees to take up to 100 days of flexible unpaid parental leave (UPL); enable employees to commence UPL at any time in the 24 months following the birth or placement of their child; enable employee couples to take UPL at the same time; allow pregnant employees to access flexible UPL in the 6 weeks prior to the expected birth of their child; enable parents to request an extension to their period of UPL regardless of the amount of leave the other parent has taken; insert an entitlement to superannuation in the National Employment Standards; clarify the operation of workplace determinations and enterprise agreements; expand the circumstances in which employees can authorise employers to make valid deduction from payments; and make minor technical amendments; and Coal Mining Industry (Long Service Leave) Administration Act 1992 and Coal Mining Industry (Long Service Leave) Payroll Levy Collection Act 1992 in relation to the accrual, reporting and payment of long service leave entitlements for casual employees working in the black coal mining industry.

Committee Referrals

Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee

Full bill PDF →APH page →

Audit History

Introduced

29 Mar 2023

Last updated on APH

10 Apr 2026

Outcome date

30 June 2023

Last checked by Crossbench

yesterday

Full text indexed

yesterday

🗳️

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.

Constituent votes

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