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ARTICLE · 15 SEPTEMBER 2017

Federal Parliament passes the Vulnerable Workers Bill

Corrs Chambers Westgarth
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Employers should prepare for these changes to the Fair Work Act, which address the exploitation of vulnerable workers.

AustraliaEmployment and HR
Frances Wheelahan
Frances Wheelahan
Janine Young
Janine Young
Justine Cheong
Justine Cheong
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Last week, Federal Parliament passed the Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Vulnerable Workers) Bill 2017 (Bill).

These proposed changes to the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FW Act) were first introduced into Parliament in March this year, constituting the Government's response to instances of systemic underpayment including the 7-Eleven underpayments scandal.

The new provisions also respond to community concern about the exploitation of vulnerable workers, in particular migrant workers and many of those who work in the franchise sector.1

In this article, we examine the key measures in the Bill including significant amendments (mainly proposed by the Labor Party) which were voted up in the Senate.

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