Key Points:
The Fair Work Amendment Act will bring changes to unfair
dismissal and enterprise agreements.
The Fair Work Amendment Act 2012, containing approximately
one-third of the
Fair Work Act Review Panel's 53 recommendations in its
Report, was passed by the Senate on 28 November 2012 and
assented to on 4 December 2012. Employers should start thinking
about how to be ready for the first tranche of changes, especially
the new mechanisms which may assist to manage the conduct of unfair
dismissal claims and the making of Enterprise Agreements.
Changes to how Enterprise Agreements are made
Applicants seeking a scope order from the Fair Work Commission
(the new name for Fair Work Australia) to determine the coverage of
a proposed Enterprise Agreement no longer must notify all other
relevant bargaining representatives of the application; they will
now only be required to "take all reasonable steps" to
notify them.
