Author: Chao Ni, Principal
The Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Bill 2022 was passed by both houses of Parliament on 2 December 2022 and the subsequent Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Act 2022 received Royal Assent on 6 December 2022.
The various changes to workplace laws within the Secure Jobs Act will roll out in different phases, as set out below.
Changes to workplace law | Key dates |
| The Secure Jobs Act received Royal Assent | 6 Dec 2022 |
| Prohibition of pay secrecy contract clauses | 6 Dec 2022 |
| Unions may initiate enterprise bargaining if previous agreement expired not more than 5 years ago | 6 Dec 2022 |
| New criteria for terminating expired enterprise agreements | 6 Dec 2022 |
| Commencement of 10 days’ paid family and domestic violence leave entitlement | 1 Feb 2023 |
| Fair Work Commission (FWC) to begin accepting applications for stop sexual‑harassment order | 6 Mar 2023 |
| Automatic termination of all pre-2010 “zombie” agreements – employer must provide advance notice to employee | 6 Jun 2023 |
| FWC to begin arbitrating disputes in relation to flexible work arrangement requests | 6 Jun 2023 |
| Commencement of multi-enterprise agreement bargaining (supported bargaining and single interest streams) | 6 Jun 2023 |
| Changes to the Better Off Overall Test | 6 Jun 2023 |
| FWC to be able to make intractable bargaining declarations | 6 Jun 2023 |
| Change of small claims threshold from $20,000 to $100,000 | 1 Jul 2023 |
| Automatic termination of all pre-2010 “zombie” agreements – default termination date | 6 Dec 2023 |
| Prohibition on fixed term contracts exceeding 2 years duration | 6 Dec 2023 |
Some of the key dates above may change if an earlier date is fixed by government Proclamation.
If you have any questions in relation to the Secure Jobs Act, please do not hesitate to contact the MST Lawyers’ Employment Law Team on +61 3 8540 0200 or by email workplace@mst.com.au.
