Employment Relations Amendment Bill Passed: Boosting Business Confidence & Worker Flexibility
Tags: Brooke van Velden Employment Relations Amendment Bill Workplace Relations and Safety Minister employment law contractor vs employee unjustified dismissal employment agreements business confidence workplace reforms Royal assent
Published: 17 February 2026 | Views: 46
The Employment Relations Amendment Bill has passed its third reading, Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says.
I am proud to see the Bill pass as law, bringing these reforms to life and fixing what really matters for employers and workers.
This Bill is about backing business to hire with increased confidence.
When employers can hire and grow their business with confidence, more people get opportunities. That means more jobs and higher paid jobs, says Ms van Velden.
Rebalancing the employment relations settings, as this law does, brings more choice for businesses and workers to create and enter working arrangements that suit their individual needs, says Ms van Velden.
The Act will: Clarify contractor vs employee status with a four part ‘gateway test’ to ensure businesses and workers have more clarity from the start of their contracting arrangement.
Ensure accountability for serious misconduct and poor behaviour which means the law stops pay-outs that financially reward employees for serious misconduct.
Set an income threshold of $200,000 for unjustified dismissal personal grievances, enabling employers to give workers a go in these high impact positions, without having to risk a costly and disruptive dismissal process if things don’t work out.
Restore freedom for workers to negotiate their employment agreements from day one by removing the 30-day rule. This means employers and workers can agree on their own terms from the first day on the job.
Most of these changes will come into effect the day after the Employment Relations Amendment Bill receives Royal assent.
This Government is committed to maximising business confidence and accelerating business growth, and today’s changes advance both, says Ms van Velden.
Editor’s notes: Employees on existing employment agreements who meet the remuneration threshold will have up to 12-months to re-negotiate their agreements before the threshold for unjustified dismissal claims takes effect.