Speech to Australian Labour and Employment Relations Association

I’d like to begin by acknowledging the Traditional Custodians of the lands where we are meeting, the Kaurna people. 

I pay my respects to their Elders, past and present. 

And extend that respect to any Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander peoples here today. 

Can I also acknowledge your Patron, Greg Stevens. 

Your President, Simon Bourne. 

And the Commissioners in the audience today, from State and Federal jurisdictions. 

It’s a pleasure to join you today.

Everyone in this room plays an important part in our workplace relations ecosystem.

Whether it’s through interpreting the law, enforcing it, applying it in the workplace, or advocating for legal change.

Today I would like to talk to you about some of our Government’s reforms to the federal workplace relations system to promote cooperative and productive workplaces. 

And our ongoing commitment to ensuring that the system remains fair and fit for purpose. 

Because reform is never a set-and-forget job. 

It requires ongoing stewardship, especially as the nature of work evolves. 

My first interaction with the workplace relations system came when I was quite young.

I started working at 14 years old, at a major retailer in Adelaide.

At that age, I didn’t really understand how the law shaped my experience at work.

Until I was 19, when I was asked to sign a newly introduced workplace instrument created by the Howard Government – an individual workplace agreement.

This agreement explicitly eroded my conditions at work, compared to the existing enterprise agreement.

I chose not to sign it – and pretty soon after, I didn’t have my casual job anymore.

But with the help of my union, I was able to seek a remedy through the then-Industrial Relations Commission, and sit down as an equal with my employer, to discuss the matter in conciliation.

Through this process, I got my job back.

That was a formative experience for a 19-year-old worker.

It shaped my understanding of the profound impact that workplace laws can have on people’s lives, including my own.

And it illustrated how important it is to have an easily accessible, independent jurisdiction to support resolution of workplace issues.

So it is not lost on me the responsibility I have now as Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, with stewardship of our workplace relations system.

A key part of that responsibility is ensuring our workplace relations system promotes cooperative workplaces – which only happens when both parties have agency, are treated with respect and have avenues to resolve their differences.

Because when you talk about the workplace relations system, people often immediately see it through a lens of conflict.

But actually, our Government sees a really important opportunity to promote cooperation in the system.

And this has been a key consideration for our Government.

We want to encourage workers, whether individually or collectively, and their employers to work together in good faith – in individual workplaces, across industries and in the broader economy. 

In many instances where we’ve strengthened the rights and protections for workers, we’ve changed the law to encourage conversations between workers and employers. 

Whether it’s about contact outside of work hours, or how a flexible work arrangement can meet the needs of both the business and the employee. 

And the evidence suggests that this approach is working. 

For example, since the Right to Disconnect was introduced, research has indicated there has been a fall of up to 33 per cent in the amount of unpaid overtime workers are performing. 

And it has prompted many conversations in the workplace about reasonable contact outside of work hours. 

We have seen very few disputes at the Commission, suggesting workers and employers are reaching agreement between themselves, without the need for dispute resolution.

Of course, while there are many cases where the best outcomes come from employers and employees having a conversation and negotiating an outcome, there are some cases where both parties want the rules to be more explicit, rather than less.

Baby Priya’s Law, which passed the Parliament last year, is a really good example.

That law removed grey areas in relation to the cancellation of employer-funded paid parental leave, in the event of stillbirth or death of a child.

By removing ambiguity, all parties – workers and their employers – have clear direction on what should happen in such a terrible situation.

And when everyone is on the same page, meaningful cooperation is much more likely to follow.

One of the best ways to encourage that meaningful cooperation at the workplace level is through enterprise bargaining. 

Because the process of bargaining itself encourages constructive dialogue that can help build understanding between the parties.

Our Government does want to see more enterprise bargaining, because of the benefits it delivers to workers and to businesses.

Through our reforms, we have made it easier to reach agreement by removing barriers and opening new avenues to bargaining.

We have done this by simplifying the Better Off Overall Test, by applying it as a global assessment, rather than a line by line comparison.

And we simplified the approval process for enterprise agreements.

Our Government’s reforms also provided more options for businesses and workers to make multi-employer agreements, particularly in low-paid industries through supported bargaining. 

And we enhanced the support available from the Fair Work Commission to resolve intractable bargaining disputes.   

More recently, we passed legislation to allow the re-initiation of supported bargaining without the need for a new authorisation, if the previous authorisation is less than 2 years old.

This saves time and money for both the Commission, and the parties.

Of course, as I said earlier, our Government is committed to the stewardship role we have for our workplace relations system.

Part of that is promoting cooperative workplaces.

And another key part of that stewardship is legislating some important principles that our Government believes are critical to fairness in our workplace laws.

Because when there is a perception of unfairness, that can have a corrosive effect on trust in our workplace relations system.

While we’ve created the legislation to embed these principles in workplaces – when, where, and how these principles should be applied is a matter for the Fair Work Commission to determine, based on expert consideration of the circumstances of each case. 

An example of this is our Same Job Same Pay legislation. 

When we came to office, there were clear examples of companies undercutting the bargained wages and conditions of direct employees by using labour hire workers to do exactly the same work. 

So our Government legislated that labour hire employees, doing the same job as direct employees, should be paid the same. 

But under the law, parties must first make an application to the Fair Work Commission for orders to be made. 

And it is then up to the independent Commission to look at the facts of the matter, and determine whether or not that situation is a genuine use of labour hire. 

This approach ensures that decisions take into account the individual circumstances of each application, and are based on the Commission’s deep expertise in workplace law. 

Our Government has taken the same approach to the emerging issues with workers in the gig economy. 

We legislated a model for minimum standards for these workers because it was clear their model of employment was not a traditional employee relationship, but nor were they true contractors. 

As a result, they were falling through our country’s workplace relations safety net. 

However, taking the approach I have outlined above, when and how these minimum standards apply is a matter for the Commission to determine, in response to applications from parties. 

This approach again gives the Commission the flexibility to respond to the new ways of work we see emerging in our economy, by ensuring there are minimum protections in place but without trying to force workers into a standard employment relationship. 

And we’ve already seen a successful outcome from this process, when world-first minimum standards for food delivery drivers and riders came into effect earlier this year. 

A final example of where our Government has embedded new principles into our workplace relations framework is by legislating to make gender equality an objective of the Fair Work Act. 

The Commission is now required to consider the need for gender equality in performing all its functions. 

And as a result of the Government’s legislative change, the Commission initiated its own work to address gender undervaluation in the award system. 

We’ve now seen the results of that work, with significant decisions being handed down for a number of awards in female-dominated industries. 

Including early childhood education, social and community services, pharmacy, and health professionals.

The minimum safety net for workers in those industries now reflects the important work they do 

Workers in those industries are now being fairly remunerated for the important work they do, making an important step towards closing the gender pay gap. 

So while Government has an important role in legislating explicit rights and principles that govern the workplace, an independent tribunal such as the Fair Work Commission is critical in how these are operationalised in the workplace. 

And to ensure the Fair Work Commission can continue to fulfil these vital functions, our Government has provided significant additional funding to the Commission since we were elected. 

In addition, we have recently legislated to address some of the emerging trends the Commission is facing, particularly the rise in AI-generated applications. 

We have provided the Commission with more powers to deal with these applications, which are often of low quality and with very little prospect of success. 

Our legislation provides the Commission with more discretion to determine matters on the papers without the need for a formal hearing, where it is appropriate to do so. 

We have removed the requirement for time-consuming hearings to determine whether or not an applicant in a general protections matter has actually been dismissed. 

And we have also provided the Commission with additional powers to dismiss vexatious or frivolous applicants, including preventing them from making further applications. 

These reforms will deliver faster resolutions to disputes, saving the time and resources of all parties. 

Of course, we know there is always more to do. 

Which is why our Government will soon be introducing a bill to the Parliament, to further assist the Commission. 

The Bill contains targeted amendments to support the Commission’s workload, including providing it with the express power to dismiss inactive applications in certain situations. 

But of course, as you will all know, the Commission does not have judicial powers. 

So matters that can’t be resolved in the Commission proceed into the Federal Court system.

These processes can be lengthy and complex, creating a barrier to the quick and efficient resolution of workplace disputes.

Workers and small businesses can struggle to find sufficient time and resources to navigate the system. 

Our Government wants to see a clear pathway in the federal jurisdiction for faster and more effective outcomes for workers and employers across the whole country.  

This is why our Government announced in July that we would be establishing a new Fair Work Court, to ensure access to fair and effective processes for workers and employers seeking to resolve workplace relations disputes.

The establishment of the new Fair Work Court presents an opportunity to reduce complexity, delay and barriers to accessibility. 

As well as improving efficiency and effectiveness across the whole system, including for small claims. 

We want to ensure that specialist judges with workplace relations expertise can deal with workplace relations matters. 

Having this expertise is critical in workplace relations, because as you all know, employment contracts are very different to ordinary commercial contracts. 

And time is usually of the essence in workplace disputes. 

As a specialist institution, the Court will be better placed to establish tailored procedures that encourage early resolution.

Of course, we do recognise that there are state-based specialist employment courts, which play an important role. 

But this Fair Work Court will be designed to deal with employment matters in the federal system. 

We want the new Fair Work Court to work seamlessly with the Fair Work Commission, to ensure the workplace dispute resolution system is easy to understand and navigate – for both workers and employers. 

Establishing this new Court provides an opportunity to streamline processes and create clearer pathways between institutions. 

Now I would like to be clear that the creation of this Court is not about adding additional obligations, either for workers or for business. 

It is simply about improving the way existing laws are administered. 

The Government is currently consulting on the design and implementation of the proposed Fair Work Court with stakeholders. 

My Department, along with the Attorney-General’s Department, have undertaken initial consultations, including with unions, employers, the Law Council of Australia and government agencies. 

This initial consultation has focused on the Court’s proposed jurisdiction, user experience, judicial expertise and supporting reforms to improve efficiency across the whole system. 

For example, from a worker or business perspective, better integration with the FWC where possible could bring real benefit to the user experience. 

And we’ll be undertaking further consultation over the coming months, to inform advice to Government on the final design of the Court. 

As I close, I want to say thank you again to all of you for your contribution to Australia’s workplace relations system. 

As I learned when I was a young worker, the laws and institutions that govern workplace relations are not abstract. 

They can have a very real impact on people, their livelihoods and their lives. 

That is why our Government is focused on ensuring Australia has a workplace relations system that is fair, accessible and fit for purpose. 

Thank you.