Employment Point-in-Time Service Updates

The Employment Point-in-Time Service has been updated to include the amendments from the Social Services and Other Legislation Amendment (Promoting Sustainable Welfare) Act 2018 (Cth) (Act 168 of 2018), the Fair Work Amendment (Family and Domestic Violence Leave) Act 2018 (Cth) (Act 169 of 2018), the Fair Work Amendment (Repeal of 4 Yearly Reviews and Other Measures) Act 2018 (Cth) (Act 170 of 2018) and the Fair Work Amendment (Casual Loading Offset) Regulations 2018 (Cth).

Act 168 of 2018

The Act introduces the following measures:

• increases existing newly arrived resident’s waiting periods and introduces a newly arrived resident’s waiting period for carer allowance, bereavement allowance, widow allowance and parenting payment
• increases existing newly arrived resident’s waiting periods for farm household allowance
• introduces a newly arrived resident’s waiting period for family tax benefit
• introduces a newly arrived resident’s waiting period for parental leave pay and dad and partner pay.

Act 169 of 2018

The Fair Work Amendment (Family and Domestic Violence Leave) Act 2018 amends the Fair Work Act 2009 to insert a new entitlement in the National Employment Standards (NES) to five days of unpaid family and domestic violence leave.

These amendments introduce an entitlement to five days of unpaid family and domestic violence leave into the NES. The new entitlement is consistent with the entitlement in the Model Clause developed by the Fair Work Commission, as part of the 4 Yearly Review of Modern Awards.

Act 170 of 2018

The Fair Work Amendment (Repeal of 4 Yearly Reviews and Other Measures) Act 2018 amends the Fair Work Act 2009 to respond to two recommendations of the Productivity Commission’s Final Report into the Workplace Relations Framework (the PC Report) and to respond to two recommendations of the Hon Peter Heerey AM, QC in his Report of Inquiry into Complaints about the Honourable Vice President Michael Lawler of the Fair Work Commission (FWC) and Related Matters (the Heerey Report).

The Act aims to:

• respond, in part, to the PC Report recommendation 8.1 by repealing the requirement for the FWC to conduct 4 yearly reviews of modern awards from the beginning of 1 January 2018. Further amendments will ensure that the residual framework for the making, varying and revoking of modern awards continues to provide a balanced, fair and sensible safety net of terms and conditions of employment. Reviews that have been commenced but not concluded under the current 4 yearly review will be able to be finalised under the existing process;
• respond to PC Report recommendation 20.1 by enabling the FWC to overlook minor procedural or technical errors when approving an enterprise agreement, where those errors were not likely to have disadvantaged employees. This includes errors concerning the requirements relating to the Notice of Employee Representational Rights;
• respond to Mr Heerey’s recommendations by applying the complaint-handling powers of the Minister for Employment and the President of the FWC to FWC Members who formerly held office in the Australian Industrial Relations Commission; and applying the Judicial Misbehaviour and Incapacity (Parliamentary Commissions) Act 2012 in relation to FWC Members.

Fair Work Amendment (Casual Loading Offset) Regulations 2018

These regulations amend the Fair Work Regulations 2009 to provide declaratory clarification of existing legal and equitable general law rights to offset payments of identified casual loading amounts in circumstances where a person makes a subsequent claim to be paid one or more entitlements under the National Employment Standards.    

These amendments been updated in the Point-in-Time Employment Service current to 23 January 2019. (Note: Subscription required).

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