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133 articles are classified in All Articles > Worker type > Contractor


Burke negotiates changes to Loopholes gig provisions

Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke has agreed to change the way the Closing Loopholes Bill regulates gig economy workers, including a requirement that the FWC set minimum standards that reflect their engagement as independent contractors, while the Senate has today passed single-issue IR Bills split-off from the legislation.

Loopholes bill fails to deliver contractor exclusion: AREEA

Resources employer group AREEA says the Loopholes Bill's labour hire provisions lack a proper exemption for specialist contractors and will kill off the use of on-hire workers, despite Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke's assurances that the drafting would take "very full account" of its concerns.

Third tranche casuals changes a win for employers: Lawyer

A leading IR lawyer says the Albanese Government's third tranche casuals provisions are a win for employers as they will provide "considerable certainty", but he predicts an ambiguous independent contracting test will produce "windfall gains and windfall losses".

Labour hire changes likely to be effective: Stewart

A leading labour law academic says the drafting of the Albanese Government's latest swathe of IR changes is "complex" but the reformed approach to defining an employee is "really significant" and new labour hire provisions are likely to prevent employers from evading agreements via outsourcing.

Commission dashes DoorDasher's hopes

In finding a DoorDash food delivery driver is an independent contractor, the FWC has held that the "issues of control, delegation and equipment" are almost identical to that in a landmark ruling involving the now-defunct Deliveroo platform.

Wires cut on "$1 billion" class action

The Federal Court is today expected to discontinue a mooted $1 billion class action accusing a now-folded workforce management company of misclassifying Telstra technicians as subcontractors, while Shine Lawyers says the workers cannot access the FEG scheme because of the High Court's Jamsek and Personnel Contracting decisions.

Burke considering multi-factor test for SJSP

IR Minister Tony Burke says the Albanese Government is considering a multi-factor test as part of its Same Job, Same Pay proposals, after resources employer group AREEA argued this is "critical" to delineate between "traditional labour hire" and other arrangements.

Flying Kangaroo using 14 employing entities for cabin crew: ACTU

Qantas has hit back at ACTU research detailing the labour hire "loopholes" it allegedly uses to suppress wages and conditions to the extent that on-hire managers, after more than a decade on the job, are earning less than the directly-engaged workers they supervise.

Burke seeks to allay employer doubts about new FWC power

The MBA is today calling on the Albanese Government to give a firm undertaking to exclude industries outside the gig-economy before introducing legislation targeting employee-like forms of work, after IR Minister Tony Burke sought to hose down concerns it leaves the door open for a far broader remit.

IR legal expert predicts "explosion" in sham contracting

A leading IR law academic says that high casual employment is an entrenched "cultural problem" that needs a solution and that there is likely to be an "explosion" in sham contracting if the Government fails to address last year's High Court rulings in Jamsek and Personnel Contracting.