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Amendments to the Fair Work Act 2009 – Details-stage Regulation Impact Statement – Department of Employment

On 27 February 2014, the Department of Employment tabled amendments to the Fair Work Act 2009. Among other changes, the amendments seek to introduce good faith bargaining arrangements for greenfield employment agreements, and amend the existing rights of employee organisations to enter workplaces. The main impact of these changes is to reduce compliance costs for business. The greenfields changes seek to limit the length of employment agreement negotiations before new projects can begin and also to limit the right of unions to enter workplaces. The Department estimates that the total reduction in regulatory burden will be approximately $70 million per year and these costings have been agreed with the Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR). The proposal has been assessed as likely to have a measurable impact on the economy with no impacts on competition. A details-stage Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) has been prepared and certified by the department, and assessed as adequate by the OBPR.