Key changes

On this page:

• Changes affecting FWA from 1 January 2010
• The national workplace relations system
• Who is covered by the national industrial relations system?
• Who is not generally covered by the national industrial relations system?

Changes affecting FWA from 1 January 2010

From 1 January 2010 a number of significant changes take place in the national workplace relations system.

The changes include:

• the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC) and the Australian Industrial Registry (Registry) cease operations on 31 December 2009
• Fair Work Australia (FWA) assumes all remaining functions of the AIRC and the Registry on 1 January 2010
• modern awards and the new National Employment Standards (NES) take effect on 1 January 2010
• the better off overall test replaces the no-disadvantage test for assessing enterprise agreements made from 1 January 2010
• applications for approval of enterprise agreements must be lodged with FWA within 14 days of the agreement being made
• there are no longer any legislative provisions for the making of individual agreements.

The national workplace relations system

From 1 January 2010, state referrals of industrial relations powers from New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania to the Commonwealth have created a national workplace relations system which now includes all private sector employment other than employment by non-constitutional corporations in WA. All employment in Victoria, Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory was already under the national workplace relations system.

Employers and employees other than in WA that were previously covered by state industrial relations systems because the employer is not a constitutional corporation, are now covered by the national industrial relations system established by the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). As part of the changes, some public sector and local government employment previously under the national system is now covered by state systems.

Employers and employees in the national system have the same workplace rights and obligations, regardless of the state they work in. Features of the national industrial relations system include:

• a set of 10 minimum National Employment Standards (NES)
• modern awards that apply nationally for specific industries and occupations
• a national minimum wage order (where it applies)
• enterprise bargaining, and
• protection from unfair dismissal.

Modern awards, together with the NES and the national minimum wage order, make up a new safety net for employees covered by the national workplace relations system.

Who is covered by the national industrial relations system?

Nationally—all employment by constitutional corporations, and in:

• Victoria, ACT & NT—all other employment
• NSW, Qld & SA—all other private sector employment (from 1 January 2010)
• Tasmania—all other private sector and local government employment (from 1 January 2010).

Who is not generally covered by the national industrial relations system?

• Western Australia—state public sector and local government employment and employment by non-constitutional corporations in the private sector
• NSW, Qld & SA—state public sector and local government employment
• Tasmania—state public sector employment.

Employers and employees not covered by the national industrial relations system will remain covered by the applicable state industrial relations system. However, national entitlements to unpaid parental leave and notice of termination or payment in lieu of notice, as well as protection from unlawful termination of employment, do extend to employees who remain covered by a state industrial relations system i.e. non-national system employees. (See: Parts 6-3 and 6-4 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth).