Unwrapping the Government's agenda for workplace reform

This publication includes:

• The timeline for change
• The changes and your organisation
• Phase one: The transitional arrangements
• Phase two: The new Act, Fair Work Australia
• New issues in the area of Occupational Health and Safety and for The Building and Construction Industry

The year 2007 ends with the election of a new Labor federal government that has as a key priority the rewriting of Australia's workplace relations laws. This will be the fourth wave of reform since 1993 and because 'Work Choices' was a key issue in the 2007 election, it may be the last substantial reform for some time.

In this report we outline the key parts of the Labor reform agenda, the likely timetable of reform and what you can do now to prepare your organisation for this new period of change.

The reform will be in two phases:

• The first being a transitional bill that the Labor Government hopes to pass into law in the first half of 2008.
• The second phase is the substantial rewrite of the workplace relations laws that will occur throughout 2008 so that the new entity of the Australian workplace relations system, Fair Work Australia can operate from 1 January 2010.

In the meantime there is unlikely to be any substantive changes made to the Workplace Authority, the Workplace Ombudsman, the Fair Pay Commission and the Australian Building and Construction Commission, until Fair Work Australia commences in January 2010.

For further information please contact:

John Tuck, Partner
Tel +61 3 9274 5051
john.tuck@dlaphillipsfox.com

Nick Ruskin, Partner and National Practice Leader
Tel +61 3 9274 5284
nick.ruskin@dlaphillipsfox.com

To download the full PDF publication, please click below.