On 4 September 2023, the Federal Government introduced its long
awaited third tranche of workplace law changes to Federal
Parliament. The Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing
Loopholes) Bill 2023 proposes to make significant amendments
to the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FW
Act).
Some of these changes could result in employers and employment
practices liability/management liability insurers experiencing an
increase in claims.
This article provides a summary of the key amendments in the
bill and is the first in a series examining the amendments in more
detail, to ensure employers and insurers are ready for the
changes.
The key changes are as follows:
Casual employment: The bill aims to provide a
clearer definition of casual employment and establish a new pathway
for casual employees to transition to permanent roles after 6
months' service. The 'new' definition is a case of
'back to the future' for employers, and draws from the
elements of casual employment
