Parliamentary Workplace Reform (Set the Standard Measures No. 1) 2022

✦ Plain-English Summary

# Parliamentary Workplace Reform (Set the Standard Measures No. 1) 2022

## What it does
This bill brings federal workplace laws into parliamentary offices for the first time. It makes sure that when MPs and senators hire staff, those employees have the same protections under fair work laws (unfair dismissal, general protections) that apply to workers everywhere else. It also clarifies that MPs must follow health and safety rules and anti-discrimination laws when managing their staff.

## Why it matters
Parliamentary staff have historically operated in a legal grey zone—they weren't clearly covered by the same protections as other Australian workers. This bill closes that loophole, so if an MP unfairly fires someone or breaches workplace laws, there's now a clearer legal pathway for that staff member to challenge it.

## Key details
- **When it starts:** The day after it received Royal Assent (it's already passed the Senate)
- **What's new:** MPs must now give written reasons when they fire someone, and those terminations are subject to fair work laws around unfair dismissal and general protections
- **Who's affected:** All parliamentary staff employed by individual MPs and senators, not just parliament as an institution

Official Description

Implements certain recommendations of the Set the Standard: Report on the Independent Review into Commonwealth Parliamentary Workplaces by amending the: Members of Parliament (Staff) Act 1984 (MoP(S) Act) to: require a notice of termination of employment to specify the ground or grounds that are relied on for the termination; and clarify that the Fair Work Act 2009 and Fair Work (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 2009 apply to staff employed or engaged under the MoP(S) Act; Work Health and Safety Act 2011 to clarify that parliamentarians are officers of the Commonwealth for the purposes of the Act; and Age Discrimination Act 2004 and Disability Discrimination Act 1992 to clarify that staff employed or engaged under the MoP(S) Act are Commonwealth employees for the purposes of the Acts.

Full bill PDF →APH page →

Audit History

Introduced

9 Feb 2022

Last updated on APH

10 Apr 2026

Outcome date

22 Feb 2022

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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