The Andrews Labor Government will start working on State-based standards and regulation for work in the gig economy, after failing to win support for national action from the Morrison Government.
The Morrison Government has cut back funding for the Fair Entitlements Guarantee in the 2021-22 Federal Budget, but still expects an increase in claims as COVID-19 support for business is wound back and more employers go into liquidation.
The Morrison Government has stopped short of providing significant funding for working women's centres offering specialist advice on workplace harassment, despite recently expressing support for them in its response to the Respect@Work report.
The principal of a specialist IR law firm has been ordered to indemnify the costs of a failed appeal after a court found the application "ought never to have been made" if he had heeded his statutory obligation to conduct quick and inexpensive litigation.
The FWC has upheld the sacking of a traffic management supervisor who allegedly directed his union representative to ask for $50,000 to "go away quietly" after the employment relationship was soured by his refusal to be on-call on weekends.
The Morrison Government's Budget has provided $10 million in "regulatory technology solutions" for employers to obtain "real-time data" on award pay and conditions from the FWC.
The Federal Government is forecasting in its Budget that wage growth, after it fell to coronavirus-driven record lows, won't exceed consumer price inflation until 2024-25.
In a significant decision on the definition of an employee, the FWC has rejected a pharmaceutical manufacturer's bid to terminate its agreement after finding that the vast majority of workers laid off after a factory fire had not been invited to vote on the proposal.
New Zealand's Ardern Labour Government is drafting legislation to overhaul its IR system and introduce occupation and industry-wide bargaining where unions can demonstrate support or it passes a public interest test, but businesses say its "compulsory" nature breaches international law.
The FWC has set aside three days in August to conduct a final hearing of the IEU's long-running bid to win substantial pay hikes for early childhood teachers.
