Topic: Australia

Update: Current status of WHS Regulations addressing psychosocial risks

By Nicki Milionis on August 30, 2023 Posted in Australia

Following amendments made by Safe Work Australia (SWA) to the model Work Health and Safety Act and the model Work Health and Safety Regulations (model WHS Regulations) in June 2022 (see our related blog articles here and here), the Commonwealth, and most States and Territories have implemented specific regulatory duties requiring persons conducting a business … Continue reading

Protecting Worker Entitlements reforms – more key dates for employers

By Alexandra Shields and Jenny Smith on August 24, 2023 Posted in Australia, General

This article was co-authored with Lachlan Crosbie. Employers need to be aware of key changes to legislation protecting employee rights which will commence in the coming months. The Fair Work Legislation (Protecting Employee Entitlements) Act 2023 (Protecting Employee Entitlements Act) marks the Government’s second major reform to the Fair Work Act 2009 (FW Act). The … Continue reading

The right to disconnect and managing the psychosocial risks of being ‘online’ outside office hours

By Nicki Milionis, Melinda Bell, Matt Wichlinski and Grace Carlson on July 25, 2023 Posted in Australia

It’s no secret that the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the general routine of how employers and employees engage with work, causing a spike in formal policies facilitating flexible work.[1] However, there is now growing support for stronger boundaries to be put in place to distinguish workers’ personal and professional lives as they struggle against an ‘availability … Continue reading

Current status of WHS Regulations addressing psychosocial risks

By Nicki Milionis on March 7, 2023 Posted in Australia, General

By Nicki Milionis with thanks to Artemis Sfendourakis for her contribution Following amendments made by Safe Work Australia (SWA) to the model Work Health and Safety Act and the model Work Health and Safety Regulations (model WHS Regulations) in June 2022 (see our related blog articles here and here), the Commonwealth, States and Territories are … Continue reading

A last sunset for Zombie Agreements

By Melinda Bell, Jessica Kamleh and Phina Conroy on February 9, 2023 Posted in Australia, General

In the second update in our series, we take a closer look at the key amendments introduced by the Fair Work Legislation (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Act 2022 (Cth) (Secure Jobs Act) which significantly amended the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FW Act). Our article summarising the key changes can be accessed here. This update … Continue reading

Changes to family and domestic violence leave in Australia

By Melinda Bell, Jessica Kamleh and Phina Conroy on January 31, 2023 Posted in Australia, General

From today, Australian permanent and casual employees working for non-small business employers can access 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave (FDV Leave) every 12 months to deal with the impacts of family and domestic violence. This new entitlement replaces the previous National Employment Standards entitlement to 5 days of unpaid FDV Leave. Employees … Continue reading

Changes to the Fair Work Act – a closer look

By Melinda Bell, Jessica Kamleh and Phina Conroy on January 31, 2023 Posted in Australia, General

Terminating enterprise agreements past their nominal expiry The Fair Work Legislation (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Act 2022 (Secure Jobs Act) received Royal Assent on 6 December 2022, significantly amending the Fair Work Act 2009 (FW Act). Our article summarising the changes can be accessed here. This update is the first in a series of updates taking … Continue reading

Proposed amendments to Commonwealth WHS Act

By Nicki Milionis on December 15, 2022 Posted in Australia

The author acknowledges the contribution of Artemis Sfendourakis to this article. On 1 December 2022, the Work Health and Safety Amendment Bill 2022 (Amendment Bill) was introduced by the Federal government to amend the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Cth) (Cth WHS Act). The Amendment Bill seeks to implement some of the recommendations made … Continue reading

Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Bill 2022 becomes law

By Melinda Bell on December 15, 2022 Posted in Australia

This article was co-authored with Jessica Kamleh. The Federal Government’s highly anticipated Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Bill 2022 (Bill) passed Parliament on 2 December 2022. A snapshot of the key changes are set out below. We have highlighted in grey the amendments to the Bill which have been negotiated between the Government and … Continue reading

New WHS legal duties to manage psychosocial hazards in the workplace

By Katherine Morris and Annika Martz on November 27, 2022 Posted in Australia, General

Legal obligations requiring persons conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) to manage psychosocial hazards in accordance with work health and safety (WHS) laws are continuing to come into effect across the country. Psychosocial hazards are hazards that may cause psychological and/or physical harm arising from, or in relation to, the design or management of work, … Continue reading

Implementing the Respect@Work report recommendations

By Melinda Bell on November 20, 2022 Posted in Australia

This article is co-authored by Jessica Kamleh and Artemis Sfendourakis Embarking on fulfilment of its election promise to implement all 55 recommendations made by Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins in the Respect@Work report (Report), the Federal Labor government introduced the Anti-Discrimination and Human Rights Legislation Amendment (Respect at Work) Bill 2022 (Respect@Work Bill) on 27 … Continue reading

We explore the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Bill 2022

By Melinda Bell on November 3, 2022 Posted in Australia

This article was co-authored with Jessica Kamleh, Sarah Katz, and Lachlan Crosbie. The highly anticipated Federal Government’s Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Bill 2022 (Bill) has been introduced to Parliament. This Bill proposes ambitious changes to the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FW Act) and mirrors many of the proposals which emerged … Continue reading

Global Employment Law – Work from Anywhere: Leadership Challenges – Transforming Workplace -#17

By Jason Noakes on June 28, 2022 Posted in Australia, Canada, China, Colombia, France, General, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Luxembourg, Middle East, Poland, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, The Netherlands, UK, United States, Venezuela

This is the 17th paper in our Transforming Workplace series. In our earlier article, we explored why employees’ expectations of their leaders have changed and why organisations need to upgrade leaders’ skills and behaviours. In this paper we now examine ow organisations can upskill their leaders to meet the specific leadership challenges arising from ‘work … Continue reading

What are the amendments to the Model WHS Act and Regulations?

By Nicki Milionis on June 21, 2022 Posted in Australia

The model Work Health and Safety Act (Model Act) and the model Work Health and Safety Regulations (Model Regulations) have recently been amended by Safe Work Australia (SWA). These amendments implement the agreed response by WHS Ministers in May 2021 (see our earlier blog article here) to the recommendations contained in the Marie Boland independent … Continue reading

Proposed Victorian Psychological Health Regulations: The submissions

By Nicki Milionis and Darcy Moffatt on June 9, 2022 Posted in Australia

In our last blog post on Victoria’s proposed Occupational Health and Safety Amendment (Psychological Health) Regulations (Proposed Regulations) we set out the proposed changes and our recommendations for employers to address the anticipated obligations under the Proposed Regulations. The feedback period in relation to the Proposed Regulations has now closed and 79 submissions were received … Continue reading

Global Employment Law – Work from Anywhere: The end of the office? – Transforming Workplace – #16

This is the 16th paper in our Transforming Workplace series. In our previous paper, we discussed how to make ‘work from anywhere’ work better. In this paper we now examine whether the day of the office, as we know it, has ended Work from Anywhere: The end of the office? – Transforming Workplace – #16 This … Continue reading

Global Employment Law- Work From Anywhere: Make it work better – Transforming Workplace -#15

This is the 15th paper in our Transforming Workplace series. In this paper we examine how ‘work from anywhere’ can be made to work better. Work From Anywhere: Make it work better -Transforming Workplace – #15 This article is part of our Transforming Workplace series. Other articles exploring the opportunities, challenges and risk of the transforming … Continue reading

Global Employment Law – The Decline (and Fall?) of the Five-Day Workweek – Transforming Workplace -#14

By Jason Noakes on April 19, 2022 Posted in Australia, Canada, China, Colombia, France, General, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Luxembourg, Middle East, Poland, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, The Netherlands, UK, United States, Venezuela

In our previous article in the Transforming Workplace series we outlined the benefits of short-term “work from anywhere”. In this article, we focus on the advantages of introducing flexible hours and days. The Decline (and Fall?) of the Five-Day Workweek This article is part of our Transforming Workplace series. Other articles exploring the opportunities, … Continue reading

Global Employment Law: Work From Anywhere: Short Term – Transforming Workplace -#13

In our previous articles in the Transforming Workplace series we examined the challenges of “work from anywhere”. In this article, we consider the best options for introducing “work from anywhere” on a short-term basis in your organisation. Work from Anywhere: Short-Term This article is part of our Transforming Workplace series. Other articles exploring the opportunities, … Continue reading

Global Employment Law: Work From Anywhere: Benefits & Challenges – Transforming Workplace -#12

In our previous article in the Transforming Workplace series we examined the hybrid model of work. In this article we discuss the benefits and challenges of “work from anywhere”, including on a hybrid work mode. Work From Anywhere: Benefits & Challenges This article is part of our Transforming Workplace series. Other articles exploring the opportunities, … Continue reading

Global Employment Law: Work from anywhere: Hybrid model – Transforming Workplace -#11

Our previous articles in the Transforming Workplace series discussed some of the important issues relating to the worldwide trend of working from anywhere. In this article we examine the hybrid workplace, where employees combine some level of “work from anywhere” with some time attending their worksite. Work from anywhere: Hybrid model This article is part … Continue reading

Global Employment Law: Work from anywhere: Does it suit everyone?- Transforming Workplace – #10

We considered the growth in the number of employees ‘working from anywhere’ in our previous articles in the Transforming Workplace series. In this article we focus on suitability – does “work from anywhere” suit all jobs, all countries, and all employees? Work from anywhere: Does it suit everyone? This article is part of our Transforming … Continue reading

Global Employment Law: Work from anywhere: Does location matter? – Transforming Workplace – #9

Our previous article in our Transforming Workplace series noted that “work from home” becomes “work from anywhere” when employees home to a more remote location further away from their pre-pandemic worksite. This article looks at some of the issues the change in location can have ifworkers “work from anywhere”. Work from anywhere: Does location matter? … Continue reading

Global Employment Law : Work from home becomes work from anywhere – Transforming Workplace -#8

This article in our Transforming Workplace series is the first in a series examining employees “working from anywhere” – an important issue facing organisations worldwide. Work from home becomes work from anywhere This article is part of our Transforming Workplace series. Other articles exploring the opportunities, challenges and risk of the transforming workplace can be … Continue reading