8th Feb 2024, 3:39 PM – Senate Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes No. 2) Bill 2023 - Committee of the Whole - Keep bill as is

The majority voted against a motion to keep unchanged division 4 in item 238, divisions 4 and 5 in item 249 and items 303 to 305 of schedule 1. In parliamentary jargon, they voted against a motion that they "stand as printed".

What do these amendments do?

These amendments were part of a wider set of amendments. Together, according to the relevant explanatory memorandum:

These amendments to the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes No. 2) Bill 2023 (Bill) would:

• Insert a further note to new subsection 66AAC(4), to direct readers to relevant provisions in the Public Service Act 1999 and highlight the interaction between the two pieces of legislation.

• Change commencement of Division 2 of Part 7 (workplace delegates rights for regulated workers), Part 15 (definition of employment) and Part 16 (regulated workers) to 6 months after Royal Assent or earlier by proclamation instead of 1 July 2024.

• Narrow the scope of the proposed competition authorisation in the new collective agreement framework, so that conduct done in accordance with terms in a collective agreement that are of no effect, would not be exempt from Part IV of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) and the Competition Code.

• Provide that if negotiating entities for a proposed collective agreement are unable to resolve a dispute about the making of the agreement, either negotiating entity may apply to the FWC for the Commission to deal with the dispute.

• Insert a new public interest test as a prerequisite for the FWC’s registration of a proposed collective agreement or variation of a collective agreement.

• Remove the contractual chain regulation-making power in the Bill and insert a comprehensive framework that would empower the FWC to make contractual chain orders and guidelines in relation to contractual chains in the road transport industry.

• Amend the road transport objective to provide that in performing a function or exercising a power, the Expert Panel for the road transport industry would be required to:

• consider the need for an appropriate safety net of minimum standards for regulated road transport workers and employees in the road transport industry; and

• have regard to the need for minimum standards in road transport contractual chains.

• Enable the Minister to make a declaration deferring or suspending all or part of a minimum standards order (MSO) or road transport contractual chain order (RTCCO) and enable the FWC to make a determination deferring or suspending all or part of a road transport minimum standards order (RTMSO) or RTCCO, while the FWC considers whether to vary/revoke all or part of the order.

• Expand the scope of the definition of ‘digital labour platform’ to also apply where parties other than the platform operator process relevant payments.

• Provide that employee-like workers and digital labour platform operators cannot be covered by both federal and state systems once an employee-like minimum standards order (ELMSO) covers them.

• Remove provisions which would have permitted variations of such RTMSOs and ELMSOs to operate retrospectively in limited circumstances.

• Prevent people from pursuing multiple unfair deactivation or unfair termination remedies under different laws.

• Make minor and technical changes to Parts 16 and 18.