There have been changes to the Fair Work Act as part of the new ‘Closing Loopholes’ laws. The changes take effect at different times between December 2023 and August 2025.
Several Changes are in effect as of 26th August 2024 for Non-Small Business Employers, with a view to apply these changes to Small Businesses on the 26th August 2025:
Eligible employees will have a new ‘right to disconnect’ outside of work hours.
Employees will have the right to refuse contact outside their working hours unless that refusal is unreasonable. This means an employee can refuse to monitor, read or respond to contact from an employer or a third party.
The right also covers attempted contact outside of an employee’s working hours.
LEARN MORE about the Right To Disconnect
There have been changes to definitions and protections for independent contractors.
A new definition of employment has been added to the Fair Work Act to help determine the meaning of ‘employee’ and ‘employer’. This is used by some businesses to work out whether a worker is an independent contractor (contractor) or an employee.
There are also changes to contractor tests, sham contracting defence, unfair contract terms, regulated workers, and a variety of tools and resources for employers and employees.
LEARN MORE about the Independent Contractor Changes
There have been multiple changes to casual employment laws.
These include to:
LEARN MORE about the Casual Employment Changes
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