15th Mar 2021, 9:08 PM – Senate Higher Education Support Amendment (Freedom of Speech) Bill 2020 - in Committee - Enterprise agreement requirements

The majority voted against an amendment introduced by Queensland Senator Malcolm Roberts (One Nation), which means it failed.

Victorian Senator Jane Hume (Liberal) explained why the Government would not be supporting the amendment:

Employers and employees are free to make enterprise agreements which include terms that pertain to the employment relationship. The proposed amendment seeks to constrain university employers' and employees' ability to freely agree to the terms and conditions of employment in their enterprise agreement. It also seeks to constrain the standards and policies that universities may set in relation to freedom of speech and academic freedom. Item (b) of the proposed amendment is also unnecessary, as in practice it simply reflects the operation provisions in Mr French's proposed model code on freedom of speech and academic freedom. Effectively, the amendment proposes that other institutional policies should reflect and be consistent with the institution's policies on freedom of speech and academic freedom, which the government expects will be consistent with the model code.

Amendment text

(1) Schedule 1, page 3 (after line 12), after item 3, insert:

3A At the end of Subdivision 19-G

Add:

19-120 Provider's enterprise agreement to uphold freedom of speech and academic freedom

A higher education provider that is a *Table A provider or a *Table B provider must take reasonable steps to ensure that:

(a) any enterprise agreement under which academic staff of the higher education provider are employed includes provisions to uphold the freedom of speech and academic freedom of the provider's academic staff, consistent with the provider's policy under section 19-115; and

(b) no other provisions of such an enterprise agreement, or other policies or codes of conduct of the higher education provider, restrict or burden those freedoms of the provider's academic staff otherwise than in accordance with the provider's policy under section 19-115.