NEW WORK LAWS - Introducing Fair Work Australia
26 June 2009
The biggest change in the new laws is the establishment of a new government authority called Fair Work Australia. It will be an ‘independent umpire’ and a ‘one-stop-shop’ service for both employees and employers.
Fair Work Australia will have the power to vary awards, set minimum wages, approve workplace agreements, determine unfair dismissal claims and make decisions about industrial action.
In many ways Fair Work Australia is a new name for the Australian Industrial Relations Commission – the responsibilities are similar, the people making the decisions are the same, and it continues to be an ‘independent umpire’.
Fair Work Australia will also have a Fair Work Ombudsman (an ombudsman is a person who investigates complaints from the public) and a call centre providing advice on work questions (formerly Workplace infoline).
The Fair Work Ombudsman will have inspectors who can assist employers, employees and organisations to comply with the new workplace relations laws and, where necessary, to take steps to enforce the laws.
Fair Work Australia will be open for business from 1 July 2009 and will be fully operational as a one-stop-shop by 1 January 2010.
The Fair Work Australia website is:
www.fairwork.gov.auRELATED WORKSITE LINKS
New work laws 2: Minimum employment standards
New work laws 3: Modern awards - updating a great Australian system
New work laws 4: Unfair dismissal – protection against getting the sack for no good reason