Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes No. 2) Bill 2023

The majority voted in favour of a motion to pass the bill. In parliamentary jargon, they gave it a third reading. The bill will now return to the House of Representatives, where our MPs will decide on whether they agree with the final form of the bill.

What does this bill do?

According to the bill homepage:

This bill is the result of the Senate dividing the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes) Bill 2023 (original bill) into two bills. On 7 December 2023 the House of Representatives accepted the Senate’s action in dividing the bill. This page shows the procedural history of the original bill up to the time it was divided, and the title and description of the bill as divided by the Senate (see sheet PU108 of amendments to the original bill). For copies of the explanatory memoranda and amendments circulated to the original bill, see the homepage of the original bill.

This bill amends the:

• Fair Work Act 2009 in relation to: casual employment; enabling multiple franchisees to access the single-enterprise stream; transitioning from multi-enterprise agreements; model terms; intractable bargaining workplace determinations; workplace delegates’ rights; sham contracting; exemptions to waive entry requirements for suspected underpayment and increasing maximum penalties for underpayments; compliance notices; the definition of employment; minimum standards and increased dispute resolution for employee-like workers performing digital platform work and regulated road transport industry contractors; and removal of a sunsetted clause relating to applications to vary modern awards;

• Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009 to remove provisions relating to the withdrawal of parts of amalgamated organisations; and

• Independent Contractors Act 2006 to provide that the Act applies to independent contractors performing work remunerated at an amount exceeding the new contractor high income threshold; and

• Coal Mining Industry (Long Service Leave) Administration Act 1992 in relation to the appointment of certain directors to the Coal Mining Industry (Long Service Leave Funding) Corporation.