Australian businesses from various sectors have come together to protest the Labor government’s enterprise bargaining reform via a national media campaign. On June 5, eight major Australian business associations announced the launch of a national media campaign to raise awareness about the risks associated with the federal government’s “same job, same pay” legislation. The legislation,…

An employment surge has seen Australia’s jobless rate fall to a 48-year low across June and December 2022. According to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the unemployment rate dropped from 3.7 percent in January to 3.5 percent in February as 64,600 Australians found a job during the period. “With employment…

A new poll has shown that the Labor government’s plan to lift the superannuation tax for high-income earners was well received by most Australian voters. According to the latest Newspoll conducted by The Australian, which surveyed 1,530 voters between March 1 and March 4, over six in ten (64 percent) respondents supported the government’s plan…

Issues surrounding potentially deadly engineered stone products in Australia will be ongoing for multiple decades, according to the workplace relations minister. Following a meeting of workplace health and safety ministers, the national work safety watchdog is investigating a possible ban on silica products. Products with high silica levels, most commonly seen in kitchen benchtops, have…

Australian federal workplace ministers will ask state and federal ministers to accelerate the ban on the domestic use of silica due to the risks it carries of causing an incurable, progressive, and in many cases, fatal lung disease. Each year around 600,000 Australian workers are exposed to silica dust at work, according to the Australian…

Millions of workers across Australia will now have access to paid domestic violence leave, while some others will have to wait until August as the new law comes into effect on Feb. 1. Under the new legislation, employees at Australian businesses with a headcount of over 15 will receive ten days of paid family and…

The Australian economy managed to dodge a bullet after the industrial relations umpire stepped in to order the country’s largest tugboat operator to suspend a planned lockout of workers. On Nov. 17, the Fair Work Commission ruled that Svitzer’s plan to lock out half its workforce indefinitely would cause severe damage to the economy and…

Parties participating in the Australian jobs and skills summit have identified removing “unnecessary limitations” to single and multi-employer agreements as a priority to be addressed, along with improving the Fair Work Act. Speaking at the summit on Sep. 1, Employment Minister Tony Burke said there were a number of issues with the Fair Work Act…

The Australian Industry (AI) Group has called the federal Labor government’s decision to roll back the building code to its bare minimum and strip back the powers of the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) a “backward step” for the industry. Innes Willox, the AI Group’s chief executive, said the announcement is of great concern…

The Australian centre-left federal government has backed a minimum wage increase for the country’s workers arguing that pay rates “should not go backwards.” The submission from the government comes in a bid to help Australians cope with rising cost of living pressures including inflation rates of 5.1 percent, with the Reserve Bank of Australia estimating…