HRM sat down with the new Minister of Workplace Relations Amanda Rishworth to learn what’s on the government’s agenda for the upcoming term.

The Australian Government’s workplace reform agenda has been one of the most ambitious in a generation. From the criminalisation of wage theft to the right to disconnect and broader protections for casual workers, the past three years have been a whirlwind of change for businesses.

As the re-elected government settles into its next term, HRM caught up with Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations Hon Amanda Rishworth to discuss legislative priorities, changes that have been put on the backburner, and the role of strong people management in shaping Australia’s lagging productivity.

Top workplace relations priorities

HRM: What are the government’s top workplace relations priorities for the upcoming term?

Minister Rishworth: Our absolute priority is delivering on the commitments we made at the election. That included putting a submission to the Fair Work Commission [FWC] to increase  minimum and award wages which, now that has been brought down, [had led to] real wage increases [that are] economically responsible.

Minister Amanda Rishworth

We are also legislating to protect penalty rates in awards. To be clear, this isn’t about impinging on enterprise bargaining – we think collective bargaining  is really important – but about ensuring the safety net is strong.

A third priority, which wasn’t as well known during the election, is legislating to ensure that business-paid parental leave cannot be cancelled in the event of a stillbirth or early death of a child.  

Most employers absolutely do the right thing, but it is a grey area. We don’t want to leave managers in a difficult position of having to make that decision. We want to be really clear that, as with the government paid parental leave, people can still access that parental leave.

We are also legislating to ban non-compete clauses through the Fair Work Commission. I was surprised at how widespread these clauses are across the income scale. We’re hearing stories where part-time disability care workers are asked to sign non-compete clauses that restrict them from working with another disability support company. If you’re a part time worker who wants to get full-time hours, that’s [not only] not good for you, but it’s also not good for the economy when we know we’ve got a shortage of disability support workers.

[The upcoming term] is about bedding down the laws which we’ve already passed and making sure they are working as intended.

HR’s toolkit:

• AHRI members can access a free on-demand webinar on how to prevent underpayments. Log into your member portal to access.
• Explore AHRI’s Enterprise Bargaining short course, which walks you through designing an engagement plan.
• Read about recent changes to award wage changes in five key sectors and recent changes to the minimum wage.
• Explore this end-of-financial year checklist for useful tips to maintain compliance with wage changes.

Right to Disconnect: small businesses

HRM: You’ve cited AHRI’s research showing positive impacts of the new right to disconnect laws, but we know that the recent case of the teacher suing for around $800,000 for an alleged breach of this law is likely causing concern amongst the business community. What do you say to small employers who are about to come under this legislation next month who are concerned?

Minister Rishworth: We are seeing very positive outcomes where the right to disconnect is already in place. It shows that new laws can deliver win-win outcomes for both businesses and employees.

That said, this is not a one-size-fits-all approach – the legislation encourages cooperative conversations at the workplace level. I understand small businesses may find this complex at first, which is why the Fair Work Ombudsman has a [free] advisory service that gives tailored advice to small business employers and can help small business employers understand their obligations.

Some predicted widespread problems when the legislation was introduced, but we simply haven’t seen that eventuate. We do, of course, need to look at each workplace on its merits.

“HR and management play such an important role in creating cooperative workplaces and so ensuring we have managers who feel confident and are well-equipped is essential to productivity gains.” – Hon Amanda Rishworth, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations 

HR’s toolkit:

• AHRI members can access a free, on-demand webinar on navigating the right to disconnect. Log into your member portal to access.
• Explore the FWO video series created to help small businesses prepare for the RTD.
• Dive into AHRI’s insights on how the right to disconnect, and other new legislation, is being received by the Australian business community.
  

How does productivity flow into the workplace relations agenda?

HRM: Productivity is a national focus. We know the Treasurer has said this was a key focus for the government this term. However, we hear less about the role of leadership and strong people management in driving it. What’s your view?

Minister Rishworth: I see cooperative workplaces as key to lifting productivity. When I say cooperative workplaces, that is having a two-way conversation between employees and management, that means disputes are resolved more quickly and everyone feels they have a stake in the business or workplace.

HR and management play such an important role in creating cooperative workplaces and so ensuring we have managers who feel confident and are well-equipped is essential to productivity gains. It’s not the whole answer – it’s multifactorial.

HR toolkit:

• Read this HRM article about how to measure productivity at an organisational level.
• Explore this visual resource to help aid complex conversations in the workplace.

AI in the workplace

HRM: How is the government approaching AI and its impact on workplaces?

Minister Rishworth: We are taking our time to carefully review the Senate inquiry into [AI adoption]. We’ve heard Minister [Tim] Ayres talk about this – we do want to, as a society, harness the opportunities that come with artificial intelligence. It has the opportunity to improve our nation’s productivity, so it’s a really important discussion.

Through the National Workplace Relations Consultative Committee, which is a tripartite committee, we have a subcommittee working on how to best provide guidance to businesses [on the use of AI].

One of the things preventing businesses from taking up AI is they don’t know what the “guardrails” are. So there’s an opportunity to come together and work those guardrails out.

HR’s toolkit

• Explore AHRI’s research into AI adoption in the HR profession
• Learn how to layer AI into your HR practice with this short course.
• HR case study: Microsoft’s HR leader on how they are saving 20,000 hours per year by using AI.

Changes on the backburner

HRM: Are there any changes ahead for leave entitlements, such as reproductive or menopause leave?

Minister Rishworth: Our focus is legislating protections around parental leave in the event of stillbirth. This is a critical change with a significant impact for those affected.

While there are always many ideas raised, we remain focused on implementing our election commitments and reviewing existing laws to ensure they work as intended.

HRM: The Greens have called for a four-day work week trial. Is this on the government’s agenda?

Minister Rishworth: That is not a high priority on our agenda.

Collaborations with industry partners

HRM: What role do you see organisations like AHRI playing in shaping the future of workplace reform?

Minister Rishworth: [AHRI and HR professionals] come with on-the-ground knowledge and frontline experience of day-to-day work; [AHRI] provides a really important voice on behalf of businesses and organisations, but also see things from the coalface from a worker’s perspective.

We are trying to work in a tripartite way with unions, employers and their representatives. So I am really keen to work with organisations, such as [AHRI], because I think it helps to give us a full picture of how people are working on the ground and [to help identify] where there needs to be better education for businesses… that can contribute to more cooperative workplaces.