The Closing Loopholes Bill No.2 received Royal Assent on 26 February 2024 which means that (subject to a couple of limited exceptions) we now know the complete time-table for when changes introduced by the Closing Loopholes Bills No.1 & No.2 will come into force.
We have set these out in the table below and if you need any more information on any of the changes, please see our earlier resources:
- Closing Loopholes Bill
- Closing Loopholes Bill Part 2
- Employment law update, webinar – Employment Hero (co-hosted by Employment Innovations’ Simon Obee)
- Employment law update, webinar part 2 – Employment Hero (co-hosted by Employment Innovations’ Simon Obee)
| Date | New law |
| 15 December 2023 | New “same job, same pay” rules for labour hire workers |
| Small business redundancy exemption changes for businesses downsizing due to insolvency | |
| New discrimination protections for employees experiencing family and domestic violence | |
| Union right of entry changes when entering to assist Health & Safety Representatives | |
| New workplace delegates’ rights | |
| Changes to protected action ballot processes (ie votes for taking industrial action, such as going on strike) | |
| Workplace health and safety and workers compensation changes | |
| 27 February 2024 | Penalties for certain contraventions by companies increase (doesn’t apply to small business employers) |
| Penalties for failing to comply with a compliance notice double | |
| New threshold for serious contraventions | |
| Changes to enterprise bargaining rules | |
| Changes to the defence for sham contracting | |
| New compliance notice measures | |
| Changes to rules about demergers of amalgamated registered organisations | |
| 1 July 2024 | Changes about union notice requirements for entry to investigate underpayments |
| Criminal offence of industrial manslaughter added to the Work Health and Safety Act and increases to other penalties | |
| 26 August 2024 (or an earlier date set by the Australian Government) | New definitions of ‘employee’ and ‘employer’ (relevant to the emplovee v contractor test) |
| New minimum standards and protections for ‘employee-like workers’ in the gig economy and contractors in the road transport industry (regulated workers) | |
| Additional rights for workplace delegates who are regulated workers | |
| 26 August 2024 | Changes to casual employment (defintion of casual employment, casual conversion, Casual Employment Information Statement, etc) |
| Eligible employees will be given a right to disconnect (doesn’t apply to small business employers until 26 August 2025) | |
| 1 November 2024 | Labour hire orders made by the Fair Work Commission can start |
| (No earlier than) 1 January 2025 | New rules criminalising intentional wage underpayments start |
| Changes to maximum civil penalties for underpayments (doesn’t apply to small business employers) | |
| 26 February 2025 | Changes to how enterprise agreement model terms are set |
| 26 August 2025 | New right to disconnect rules start for small business employers |
Disclaimer
The information provided in these blog articles is general in nature and is not intended to substitute for professional advice. If you are unsure about how this information applies to your specific situation we recommend you contact HR Connect for advice.