The Federal Government has announced the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes) Bill 2023 which proposes amendments to the current employment and industrial relations system.

Some proposed changes from 1 July 2024 include:

Contracts may no longer determine or classify how an employee is employed.

Casuals with a definite pattern of work will be able to provide their employers with a written notification that they believe they no longer meet the requirements of a casual employment engagement.

For small businesses, casuals can request this conversion after 12 months.

For all other businesses, casuals can request this after 6 months.

Employers have 21 days to provide a detailed reason if they decline.

New minimum standards and conditions for gig economy workers

Some proposed changes include that:

Employee-like workers would have a new ability to apply to the Commission for assistance if they consider they have been unfairly deactivated by a digital labour platform.

The Commission has broad discretion to decide what terms and conditions will be set as minimum standards. For example, standards could include terms about payment terms, deductions, working time and insurance.

Other elements of the proposed bill include:

(Article from Restaurant & Catering Australia)