Significant changes to Australian employment law are set to take effect from August 26, 2024, under the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes No. 2) Act 2024. These amendments will introduce new rights and protections for workers and are expected to impact how growers manage their workforce. Below is an overview of the key changes.

Right to Disconnect: Employees will gain the legal right to decline work-related communications outside working hours. This applies to all businesses except small ones (under 15 employees), which will follow from August 2025. Disputes can be escalated to the Fair Work Commission (FWC).

Casual Employment Conversion: Casual employees can choose to convert to permanent roles under a new process. Employers must provide a clear reason if they reject a conversion request.

Redefined Employment: This change will allow certain individuals to opt out of being classified as employees, provided they meet a specific earnings threshold, known as the ‘contractor high income threshold’. Both parties can initiate the opt-out process, and individuals are permitted to revoke their opt-out once for each specific relationship.

Protections for Contractors: The FWC will now have the authority to address disputes involving unfair terms in service contracts for independent contractors earning below the contractor high income threshold. Contractors earning above this threshold will not be able to seek a review of harsh or unfair service contracts under this amendment.

Minimum Standards for 'Employee-Like' Workers: New protections will be established for gig economy workers, referred to as 'employee-like' workers, with the FWC setting fair standards.

Additionally, the FWC is authorised to set standards for contractual chains in the road transport sector, covering ‘employee-like’ workers.

For more details, visit the Fair Work Commission’s website.