Employment Discrimination in Australia Employment discrimination occurs when an individual is treated unfairly in the workplace due to personal attributes such as race, sex, age, disability, or other protected attributes. Various federal and state laws, including the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), the Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986 (Cth), and relevant state-based anti-discrimination laws, […]
The Fair Work Commission (the FWC) have exercised new powers to deal with disputes regarding gig economy workers and ‘unfair deactivation’ in the recent decision of Ibrahim Jibril [2025] FWC 1289 (the Decision). As such, the FWC determined that an Uber driver was not protected by the new unfair deactivation provisions under the Fair Work […]
In the recent decision of Renee Passmore v The Trustee for The CBC Lawyers Unit Trust, Sandra Clive [2025] FWC 575 (the Decision) the Fair Work Commission (the FWC) has stated that it will refer a law firm to the Fair Work Ombudsman for unauthorised deductions from employee wages in breach of the Legal Services […]
In the recent Federal Court of Australia decision of Wollermann v Fortrend Securities Pty Ltd [2025] FCA 103 (the Decision) an employer’s attempt to defer payment of an employee’s contractual bonus to which they were already entitled to has been found to be in contravention of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (the FW Act). […]
In Australian workplaces, Adverse Action refers to negative actions that may be taken by an employer, an employee, or an independent contractor that can impact an individual’s rights, employment conditions, or working environment. Such actions can be retaliatory, discriminatory, or otherwise harmful and are prohibited by the Fair Work Act 2009. The general protections provisions […]
The Minns Government has proposed legislation, being the Industrial Relations Amendment (Transport Sector Gig Workers and Others) Bill 2025 (NSW) (the Bill), which aims to extend certain provisions of the Industrial Relations Act 1996 (NSW) (the Act) to give protections to transport sector gig workers engaged in contracts of carriage by providing these workers with […]
In a recent development, the Albanese Labor Government has proposed the introduction of legislation which will create a ‘blanket ban’ on non-compete clauses in employment contracts for workers earning less than the high-income threshold, currently being $175,000.00 (indexed annually) (the Proposed Ban). Non-Compete Clauses Non-compete clauses are clauses found in an employment contract which impose […]
The Fair Work Commission (the FWC) has made several recent orders requiring an employer to implement a flexible work arrangement (FWA) following a refusal of an employee’s request under “reasonable business grounds’’. In making these orders, the FWC determined that the objectives of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (the Act) and corresponding National Employment […]
Overview In the recent case of Elisha v Vision Australia Ltd [2024] HCA 50, the High Court of Australia has ruled that workers unfairly dismissed in breach of their employment contract can now claim compensation for psychiatric injury resulting from the dismissal. In a 6-1 verdict, the High Court ordered that Vision Australia Ltd (Vision […]
Background In a recent South Australian Employment Tribunal (the SAET) decision, Lauren Vercoe (Ms. Vercoe), Asset Officer for the City of Charles Sturt (the Council), sought workers’ compensation after injuring herself in September 2022 while working from home. Ms. Vercoe fractured her arm and temporarily injured her knee after tripping over a 60cm metal pet […]