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Changes to the Fair Work Act 2009

Post-implementation Review – Department of Employment

In February 2013, the then Government announced a number of changes to the Fair Work Act 2009. A Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) was required for the changes, but the then Prime Minister granted an exemption to the department from the RIS requirements on the basis of exceptional circumstances. As a result, under the government’s best practice requirements, the Department of Employment was required to complete a post-implementation review (PIR). A PIR has been prepared for the changes included in the Fair Work Amendment Act 2013 that came into effect in July 2013. The changes:

  • provide that taking special maternity leave does not reduce an employee’s entitlement to unpaid parental leave;
  • for concurrent unpaid parental leave, increased the maximum period of leave from three to eight weeks; allowed parents to choose when they want to take the leave in the twelve months after the birth of the child; and allowed the leave to be taken in separate periods of at least two weeks unless otherwise agreed by the employee;
  • provided pregnant employees with less than 12 months service the right to transfer to a safe job; and
  • expanded the categories of employees who can request flexible working arrangements.

The PIR concludes that these mostly technical in nature changes did not have a material regulatory impact on business, but found that the changes likely resulted in a small net benefit to the community. The PIR estimates the average annual regulatory cost at approximately $44, 367 per year. The OBPR has agreed to the estimate.