What were the Federal Government's industrial relations changes?

The Federal Government's industrial relations reform agenda included:

establishment of an Australian Fair Pay Commission to set minimum rates of pay and award classification wages
a reduction of Federal award conditions by removing jury service, notice on termination, long service leave and superannuation
an Australian Fair Pay and Conditions Standard with 5 minimum employment conditions covering annual leave, personal leave, parental leave, a maximum number of working hours and the minimum pay rate
5 minimum conditions to replace the 'no disadvantage' test based on the award which is currently used as a benchmark for approving Federal collective and individual agreements
removal of any scrutiny of collective and individual agreements upon lodgement with the Office of the Employment Advocate; previously agreements were checked against legal protections by an independent tribunal (the AIRC)
a Task Group to review awards and award classification structures, and report back within 12 months resulting in a further reduction of Federal award conditions
replacing the main role of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC) in setting wages and conditions with a reduced role in dispute settlement and award simplification
exempting all businesses that employ up to 100 employees from unfair dismissal laws and increasing probationary periods from 3 months to 6 months

Last updated 21 July 2009

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