There are significant amendments being proposed to the Fair
Work Act 2009, which anyone in business needs to be aware
of.
The Fairwork Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes) Bill
2023 is presently being considered by Parliament. If the
proposed changes come into force, there are a number of significant
changes that employers in particular will need to be aware of.
Amongst the raft of changes, the Bill proposes protections for
labour-hire and gig economy workers, enable casual to permanent
conversion for employees, and criminalise wage theft and industrial
manslaughter.
One of these changes is that the Bill proposes to create a new
federal offence for wage theft, with employers facing a maximum of
ten years in jail and fines of up to $7.8 million (or three times
the amount of the underpayment if the underpayment exceeds that
amount) if the employer is deliberately underpaying its workers. It
is important, however, to note that the proposed law will not
target
