In mid-March 2021, amendments were sought to the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) (SD Act) by independent member Ms Zali Steggall OAM introducing the Sex Discrimination Amendment (Prohibiting All Sexual Harassment) Bill (Bill). If passed, the Bill will address some of the shortcomings in the SD Act which were initially highlighted
The focus on sexual harassment in the workplace, particularly as a risk to the psychological health of employees, has continued in 2021.
Australian Human Rights Commission report into workplace sexual harassment
The Respect@Work: National Inquiry into Sexual Harassment in Australian Workplaces published in March 2020 (Respect@Work Report), found that whilst the Model
What has happened so far?
Last month the Fair Work Amendment (Supporting Australia’s Jobs and Economic Recovery) Act 2021, also known as the Omnibus Legislation, came into effect. This reformed the legal definition of a casual employee and introduced a statutory definition of a “casual employee” for the first time in Australia.
For a
Norton Rose Fulbright Australia’s Employment and Labour team has collaborated with our global counterparts to prepare a guide on the status of gig workers across various jurisdictions. The guide is available here.
Employment and labour practitioners in each jurisdiction have set out the current employment status at law of gig workers, before explaining the grey
On 26 November 2020, the High Court granted a special leave application made by labour hire company Workpac to appeal the Full Federal Court’s finding in the matter of Workpac Pty Ltd v Rossato [2020] FCAFC 84 (Rossato) which was handed down earlier this year. In Rossato, the Court held that a
The Work Health and Safety Bill 2019 (WA) received assent on 10 November 2020 (WHS Act). The WHS Act introduces the offence of industrial manslaughter and will harmonise WA’s work health and safety (WHS) laws with most other Australian states and territories. This harmonisation is long overdue in WA with the other states
Earlier this year, the Respect@Work – National Inquiry into Sexual Harassment in Australian Workplaces, conducted by the Australian Human Rights Commission made key recommendations addressing psychological health and sexual harassment in Australian workplaces. Specifically the inquiry recommended:
Background
On 25 October 2016, Kate Goodchild, Luke Dorsett, Cindy Low & Roozbeh Araghi suffered fatal injuries on Dreamworld’s Thunder River Rapids Ride after the raft they had been travelling in collided with another raft.
Coroner James McDougall undertook a Coronial Inquest (Inquest) which resulted in the Findings of Inquest (Findings)
When extending Part 6-4C of the Fair Work Act (Cth) (FW Act), the government recognised there would be employers who had previously qualified for the JobKeeper scheme, but who would no longer qualify to participate in the scheme following its extension past the end of September 2020.
In a landmark decision, the Full Court of the Federal Court has ruled that the Fair Work Commission (FWC) has power to determine when, and whether, a dismissal from employment has occurred when dealing with a general protections application.[1]