Ai Group Members can refer to the following exclusive resources to help them navigate the significant changes introduced by the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes) Act 2023 and the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes No.2) Act 2024: Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes) Act 2023
Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes No.2) Act 2024
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On September 4, 2023, the Australian Government introduced the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes) Bill 2023 (Closing Loopholes Bill). The Closing Loopholes Bill, incorporating a range of amendments, was passed by the House of Representatives on 29 November and was introduced to the Senate on 4 December 2023.
On 7 December, agreement was reached in the Senate enabling elements of the Bill to be passed by the Parliament. This included contentious elements relating to wage theft, closing the labour hire loophole and worker delegates’ rights.
As a consequence, the Closing Loopholes Bill was split in two. The elements of the Bill that the Senate agreed to were retained in a pared down version of the Closing Loopholes Bill which was passed by the Parliament on 7 December 2023 and received Royal Assent on 14 December 2023.
A range of other major amendments were contained in the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes No.2) Act 2023, which was passed by the Parliament on 12 February 2024, and received Royal Assent on 26 February, 2024.
Further information about the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes) Act 2023 (Closing Loopholes Act) and the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes No.2) Act 2024 (Closing Loopholes No. 2 Act) can be found below.
The Closing Loopholes Act introduces major changes to the Fair Work Act 2009 (FW Act) and other laws, including:
For Summaries of the changes introduced by the Closing Loopholes Act please refer to our dedicated page on the HR Resource Centre.
The following list provides the commencement dates for the various changes introduced by the Closing Loopholes Act:
15 December 2023
1 July 2024
1 November 2024
1 January 2025
*The later of 1 January 2025; and the day after the Minister declares a Voluntary Small Business Wage Compliance Code
For a downloadable list of the commencement dates please see: Closing Loopholes Act Operative Dates.
The balance of the measures previously proposed as part of the Closing Loopholes Act and now contained in a separate statute, the Closing Loopholes No. 2 Act. The No. 2 Act includes amendments dealing with more complex and controversial measures related to:
Members can find further information about the Closing Loopholes Act and Closing Loopholes No. 2 Act in Member Advice NAT 046/23 - Closing Loopholes Bill passed by Parliament and NAT 005/24 - Closing Loopholes Bill No.2 Passed By Parliament.
For Summaries of the changes introduced by the Closing Loopholes Act please refer to our dedicated page on the HR Resource Centre.
The Closing Loopholes No. 2 Bill. has not yet received Royal Assent. Ai Group will advise members further of operative dates once Royal Assent has been received. The following list provides the commencement dates for the various changes introduced by the Closing Loopholes Bill No. 2:
27 February 2024
1 July 2024
26 August 2024
The date on which a proclamation is issued or 26 August 2024, whichever is earlier
The date on which a proclamation is issued or 26 February 2025, whichever is earlier
26 August 2025
Ai Group continues to be heavily engaged in consultation with the Government over the development of its proposed legislation.
Although most of this consultation has been required by Government to be undertaken on a confidential basis, we are able to share the following submissions that we have provided to the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations in relation to the third tranche of reforms to Fair Work legislation:
The latest media information and speeches regarding the third tranche of reforms to the Fair Work laws:
Members who wish to discuss the Government’s reform agenda, should contact Brent Ferguson, Ai Group’s Head of National Workplace Relations Policy.
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