Australia's new Workplace Relations System
From 1 July 2009, there will be a new workplace relations system in Australia. The new system is designed to balance the needs of employees and employers.
Workplace relations fact sheets
Key elements of the new system
A new industrial umpire
Progress to date and next steps
Workplace Relations Ministers’ Council
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Key elements of the new system
The Fair Work Act 2009 delivers on key Government election commitments, and will put in place a new workplace relations system built on:
- a fair and comprehensive safety net of minimum employment conditions
- a system that has at its heart bargaining in good faith at the enterprise level
- protections from unfair dismissal for all employees
- protection for the low-paid
- a balance between work and family life, and
- the right to be represented in the workplace.
Consistent with election commitments, new modern awards and a set of ten National Employment Standards will commence on 1 January 2010.
A new industrial umpire
The
Fair Work Act 2009 establishes a new independent umpire, Fair Work Australia, to oversee the new national workplace relations system. The seven existing workplace relations agencies will be amalgamated to form a new institutional framework comprising Fair Work Australia and the Office of the Fair Work Ombudsman.
Fair Work Australia and the Fair Work Ombudsman will provide practical information, advice and assistance on workplace issues and ensure compliance with workplace laws. While the Office of the Fair Work Ombudsman will have separate governance arrangements, its day-to-day operations will be practically integrated with Fair Work Australia.
Both Fair Work Australia and the Office of the Fair Work Ombudsman will commence operation on 1 July 2009.
Progress to date and next steps
The new laws are the product of extensive consultation with employer and employee representatives, and state and territory governments.
- The Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, the Hon Julia Gillard MP introduced the first of two transitional and consequential Bills, the Fair Work (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Bill 2009, into Parliament on 19 March 2009. This Bill was subject to a Senate Committee Inquiry that handed down its report on 7 May 2009.
- The second of the two transitional and consequential Bills, the Fair Work (State Referral and Consequential and Other Amendments) Bill 2009 was introduced into Parliament on
27 May 2009.
- Together, the two transitional and consequential Bills will operate with the Fair Work Act to set out the arrangements for a smooth transition to the new workplace relations system.
- The Fair Work Act was passed by the Parliament on 20 March 2009 and received royal assent on 7 April 2009.
Workplace Relations Ministers’ Council
The Workplace Relations Ministers’ Council is a council of federal, state and territory Ministers responsible for workplace relations, occupational health and safety and workers’ compensation issues.
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Further information about the new workplace relations reforms is available from the fact sheets page. The fact sheets should be read in conjunction with the speeches made by the Deputy Prime Minister.
Recent speeches by the Deputy Prime Minister