The Albanese Labor government has delivered the most significant overhaul of workplace laws in decades, strengthening protections for workers, boosting wages, and closing loopholes that allowed exploitation of vulnerable workers.
Since taking office in May 2022, Labor has passed three major tranches of workplace reform: the Secure Jobs, Better Pay Act 2022, and the Closing Loopholes Acts of 2023 and 2024. These reforms have fundamentally shifted the balance of workplace rights by tackling wage theft, protecting gig workers, ending "same job, same pay" exploitation, implementing the right to disconnect, and strengthening protections against sexual harassment. The reforms are already delivering measurable results, with wages growing at 4% annually (the highest in 15 years), 2.62 million employees now covered by enterprise agreements (the highest since 2014), and average pay rises in new agreements reaching 4.8% in December 2024.
Labor has made deliberate wage theft a criminal offence for the first time in Australian history. From 1 January 2025, employers who intentionally underpay workers face up to 10 years imprisonment, with fines up to $7.85 million for companies or three times the underpayment amount, whichever is greater. This addresses the Fair Work Ombudsman's estimate of between $850 million to $1.55 billion in stolen wages annually, affecting one in four workers. Employers who self-report and repay workers can avoid criminal proceedings, whilst small businesses are supported through a Voluntary Wage Compliance Code.
The government closed the labour hire loophole by ensuring workers employed through labour hire companies receive the same pay as permanent employees doing the same job at the same workplace. This reform has already delivered significant wage increases across multiple sectors. NSW coal miners at Boggabri Coal Operations received increases between $15,600 and $35,000, Queensland meat processing workers secured increases up to 42%, Kmart warehouse workers gained up to $11.56 per hour, and 2,450 Qantas long-haul cabin crew were brought into direct employment. Over 40 applications have been processed by the Fair Work Commission as of January 2025.
Labor introduced the right to disconnect from 26 August 2024, giving workers the legal right to refuse unreasonable contact outside working hours. This addresses the growing problem of unpaid overtime and digital burnout. Analysis from the Centre for Future Work shows unpaid overtime has fallen from 5.4 to 3.6 hours per week, a 33% reduction representing a decrease from 3.3 billion to 2.2 billion hours of unpaid work across Australia. YouGov polling shows 86% of Australians support the right to disconnect, including 75% of Coalition voters.
The government has introduced world-leading protections for gig economy workers, with the Fair Work Commission empowered to set minimum standards for digital platform workers, protecting them from unfair deactivation and ensuring decent pay and conditions. This reform addresses the issue of some gig workers earning as little as $4 per job whilst working 70+ hours weekly. Four applications under these changes have already been submitted to the Fair Work Commission.
Labor has implemented all 55 recommendations of the Respect@Work report, creating a positive duty for employers to prevent sexual harassment and strengthening the Sex Discrimination Act 1984. The Australian Human Rights Commission gained new compliance and enforcement powers backed by $5.8 million in funding, including the ability to conduct inquiries, issue compliance notices, and apply to courts for compliance orders. The reforms lowered the threshold for sex-based harassment claims and extended the timeframe for lodging discrimination complaints from 6 to 24 months.
From 1 July 2026, employers must pay superannuation within seven business days of payday, replacing the current quarterly system. This reform addresses the $6.2 billion in super that went unpaid in 2022-23, affecting one in four workers. The earlier contributions through compounding will deliver an average 25-year-old worker the equivalent of an extra $6,000 in today's dollars by retirement. For workers recovering unpaid super, the impact is more substantial, with a typical 35-year-old seeing their retirement balance increase by more than $30,000 in today's dollars.
Labor passed the Fair Work Amendment (Baby Priya's) Bill 2025, protecting employer-funded paid parental leave when a child is stillborn or dies. The legislation prevents employers from cancelling pre-approved paid parental leave following stillbirth or infant death unless expressly agreed otherwise. This addresses the situation faced by more than 3,000 families who lost a child to stillbirth or within the first 28 days of birth in 2022.
The government legislated 10 days paid family and domestic violence leave, replacing the previous 5 days unpaid entitlement. All employees including full-time, part-time and casual workers can access the leave from their first day of employment, with the entitlement available upfront rather than accrued. The reform commenced on 1 February 2023 for non-small businesses and 1 August 2023 for small businesses. This provides critical support for employees experiencing family and domestic violence to access medical, legal, financial, emergency housing, safety planning, relocation and counselling services.
Labor expanded government-funded Paid Parental Leave from 20 weeks to 22 weeks as of 1 July 2024, with further expansion to 26 weeks by 2026. The government also legislated paying 12% superannuation on Paid Parental Leave from 1 July 2025. Around 180,000 families will benefit annually, with the maximum superannuation contribution reaching over $3,000 per birth or adoption once the scheme reaches 26 weeks. This reform addresses the retirement income gap, with women retiring with 25% less superannuation than men due to time out of the workforce for caring responsibilities.
Additional reforms include new protections for Commonwealth frontline workers through workplace protection orders with penalties up to two years imprisonment, $72.7 million to boost 85 headspace services providing free mental health support for young Australians, and migration reforms including a public register of approved sponsors and increased worker mobility through the Skills in Demand visa to reduce exploitation of temporary migrant workers.
The comprehensive package of reforms has strengthened workplace rights by allowing workers to challenge unfair contractual terms, implementing stronger penalties for sham contracting, enabling multiple franchisees to access single enterprise agreement streams, strengthening right of entry provisions to investigate underpayments, and prohibiting pay secrecy clauses (giving employees the right to discuss their pay). The reforms have also reformed casual employment by ending "forced permanent casual" arrangements and providing genuine pathways to permanent work for the more than 2.6 million Australians in casual roles. Additionally, Labor abolished the Australian Building and Construction Commission and Registered Organisations Commission, and introduced multi-employer bargaining allowing unions to negotiate pay deals across entire sectors.
Key Industrial Relations Achievements:
Criminalised wage theft from 1 January 2025, with penalties up to 10 years jail and fines up to $7.85 million for companies
Closed labour hire loopholes, delivering wage increases of $15,600-$35,000 for coal miners, up to 42% for meat processors, and up to $11.56/hour for warehouse workers
Introduced right to disconnect from August 2024, reducing unpaid overtime by 33% from 5.4 to 3.6 hours weekly
10 days paid family and domestic violence leave from February 2023, replacing 5 days unpaid leave
Expanded Paid Parental Leave to 26 weeks by 2026, with 12% superannuation contributions from July 2025 benefiting 180,000 families annually
Payday superannuation from 1 July 2026, addressing $6.2 billion in unpaid super affecting one in four workers
World-leading gig economy protections setting minimum standards and preventing unfair deactivation
Implemented all 55 Respect@Work recommendations, creating positive duty to prevent sexual harassment
Protected parental leave after stillbirth or infant death (Baby Priya's Bill)
Prohibited pay secrecy clauses, giving employees the right to discuss their pay
Wages growing at 4% annually (highest in 15 years) with 2.62 million employees covered by enterprise agreements (highest since 2014)
Average pay rises in new enterprise agreements reaching 4.8% in December 2024
$72.7 million boost to headspace services reducing wait times for young people's mental health support
The result is a workplace relations system that delivers higher wages, stronger job security, and better protections against exploitation than when Labor took office.
