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 […]

During late September 2024, the Federal Court handed down an interim order in the case of Dabboussy v Australian Federation of Islamic Councils [2024] FCA 1074, which granted an injunction requiring an employer to reinstate an employee following a summary dismissal which occurred one-day prior to the employee’s eligibility to make an application for unfair […]

A recent Federal Court decision, AEI Insurance Group Pty Ltd v Martin (No 4) [2024] FCA 1110, highlights the potentially costly consequences for employees who breach post-employment restraint clauses contained in an employment contract. In this case, Craig Martin (Mr. Martin), a former account manager at AEI Insurance Group Pty Ltd (AEI), was ordered to […]

Overview One of Australia’s largest not-for-profit disability service providers is among the first employers to provide 12 days of ‘reproductive leave’ to its 16,000 disability service workers. Following negotiations between the Health Services Union (the HSU) in Victoria and Scope (Aust) Ltd (Scope), full-time and part-time workers are eligible. They can use the reproductive leave […]

Background President Adam Hatcher of the Fair Work Commission (the FWC) is seeking feedback on three key test cases brought forward by the Transport Workers Union (the TWU) following the Albanese Government’s “Closing Loopholes 2” legislation. The TWU’s three applications are seeking to establish minimum standards and regulate working conditions for employee-like gig workers in […]

The Fair Work Ombudsman (the FWO) has secured $197,000 in court-ordered penalties against Doll House Training Pty Ltd (the Company), a Sydney-based health and wellness research company, for engaging in sham contracting involving workers with disabilities. The Federal Court found the company guilty of misrepresenting employment contracts as independent contractor agreements (ICAs) and failing to […]

From 26 August 2024, employees will have a legal right under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) to refuse to monitor, read or respond to contact or attempted contact from their employer outside of their working hours, unless the refusal is unreasonable (the Right). The Right also applies to any contact or attempted contact from […]

Several changes to casual employment will be introduced by the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes No. 2) Bill 2023 (Cth) which endeavour to create fair treatment for casual employees (the Changes). Summary of the Changes Definition of Casual Employees The new definition of a casual employee will focus on the absence of an employer’s […]

The Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes No. 2) Bill 2023 (Cth) has introduced several important changes for independent contractors. These changes include a new definition of employment, the expansion of the powers of the Fair Work Commission (FWC) to deal with unfair terms in services contracts and the introduction of new frameworks providing minimum […]

Background In a recent legal development, a court has declined to order costs against a former sales representative who rejected multiple settlement offers before losing her adverse action case against tools manufacturer Makita (“the Company”). The court found “nothing especially alluring” about the settlement offers, ultimately leading to the dismissal of the respondents’ application for […]