Earlier this week, the Federal Government introduced the
Fair Work Bill 2008 (FW Bill) into Federal Parliament.
Despite apparent earlier indecision, the Coalition moved quickly to announce that it will not block the passage of the FW Bill through Parliament. While some amendment can be expected, it is anticipated that the FW Bill will remain largely intact and will become law in the early part of 2009.
The FW Bill is the second and most significant component of the Government's much publicised reform of Australia's workplace relations legislation. It follows the Workplace Relations Amendment (Transition to Forward with Fairness) Act 2008 which, among other things, abolished Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs) and triggered the award modernisation process. The Government has announced that a third piece of legislation dealing with the way in which parties will transition from the current regime to the new system and consequential matters will be introduced in the first half of 2009. Detailed regulations will also follow.
Perhaps the first thing to note is that the FW Bill is a complete re-write of the current Workplace Relations Act 1996 (WR Act). It is shorter than the WR Act and structured differently. While it retains many familiar themes, it also introduces a number of new concepts, definitions and rules which will need to be digested by employers, employees and their representatives alike over the coming months.
In the days since the FW Bill was released, employer and employee representative groups as well as journalists, politicians and academic commentators have offered a variety of analysis and commentary about the FW Bill. Debate is likely to continue about the extent to which the changes alter Australia's workplace relations landscape and their broader historical significance.
At a practical level, it is clear that aspects of the new legislation will require employers and employees to rethink and change the way in which they relate to one another on day-to-day basis. Going forward, there will be things that the law will require to be done differently in the workplace.
The Government intends that the new legislation will replace the WR Act with effect from 1 July 2009; certain aspects (in particular, the new unfair dismissal and enterprise bargaining rules) will commence from that date and the balance of the legislation will come into effect on 1 January 2010. Consequently, the window to come up to speed with the changes is a relatively narrow one.
This publication seeks to give readers the inside running.
Click here to view our outline of the key elements of the FW Bill, paying particular attention to some of the more fundamental departures from the current legislation.