On 6 December 2022, the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Act 2022 (Cth) received Royal Assent and on 13 December 2022, the amendments introduced by the Anti-Discrimination and Human Rights Legislation (Respect at Work) Act 2022 (Cth) commenced operation. Set out in this report are high-level summaries of those amendments, links to more detailed advices regarding those amendments, as well as an overview of further legislative changes that are expected to be introduced by the Federal Government this year.

On 8 December 2022, the Fair Work Legislation Amendment Regulations 2022 (Cth) was also introduced. These regulations introduce new pay slip requirements for the provision of the paid family and domestic violence leave entitlement under the National Employment Standards.

The Fair Work Commission (FWC) is expected to commence consultations with Peak Councils such as Ai Group later this month regarding the development of the statement of principles for enterprise agreement approvals. The statement of principles is intended to replace the prescriptive obligations in the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) regarding pre-approval steps that an employer must currently take within strict timeframes to satisfy the FWC that an enterprise agreement has been genuinely agreed to. The FWC has also indicated that a draft copy of the statement of principles will be published for comment in the week commencing 27 February 2023.

The FWC has determined to significantly vary the annual leave shutdown provisions in 78 modern awards by replacing them with a new model annual leave shutdown clause. The new shutdown provisions will be operative on 1 May 2023.

Read all this and more in our latest report on significant workplace relations issues.