Emma McBride (Dobell, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Albanese government was elected on the promise to get wages moving. To do that we need to close the loopholes that are undermining wages and conditions for many Australians. That's what this reform is about—delivering on that promise for Australians. We've undertaken extensive consultation on the precise design of these measures, including with business groups, and what is clear is that we've struck the right balance. There are no radical changes. All we are doing is making the current law work effectively. These laws will strengthen the current workplace relations framework and provide certainty, fairness and a level playing field for both businesses and workers.

I would like to focus on three of the important components of these reforms: changes to casual employment, changes to the gig economy and changes to supporting first responders who sustain PTSD in the workplace.

What we are doing here, when it comes to casual employment, is what Labor governments always do: standing up for workers. We are closing the loophole that leaves people stuck classified as casuals when they actually work permanent, regular, ongoing hours, because we know that often casual employees work like permanent employees but many do not get any of the benefits of job security. This legislation creates a fair, objective definition to determine when an employee can be classified as 'casual'. We expect that it will help more than 850,000 casual workers who have regular work arrangements.

Workers are calling for more certainty and more job security. That's because the costs of living aren't casual. Your bills come in every week, month or quarter. Employees should not be stuck as casuals when they're working just like permanent employees but don't receive the benefits of job security or leave entitlements. This proposal will strengthen the pathway to permanent work for people who want it while also making sure that any worker who chooses to remain a casual will have the option to do so.

Workers who wish to become permanent will have two pathways to do so: one via the definition based employee choice pathway and a second through the existing casual conversion mechanism. The first pathway recognises the objective status of the employee and applies where their working arrangements changed so they no longer meet the definition. The employee choice pathway is entirely employee driven, and employer obligations to respond only arise if the employee notifies that they believe that their status has changed. How this works is that employees in medium and large businesses will be able to access the employee choice pathway after six months of service and employees of small businesses after 12 months of service. That strikes the right balance and I know will be welcomed in my community on the Central Coast of New South Wales.

The new framework is clear that status only changes from casual to permanent through conscious action and agreement by the employee. If an employee does not want to change, they remain casual and keep their casual loading. While we build a pathway to permanency for casual workers, we also need to make sure that those who are working in non-traditional structures in the new gig economy are protected at work and protected from exploitation.

Our government will extend the powers of the Fair Work Commission to include employee-like forms of work, allowing it to better protect people in new forms of work from exploitation and dangerous working conditions. This change will allow the Fair Work Commission to make orders for minimum standards for new forms of work such as gig work. We're not trying to turn people into employees when they don't want to be employees. A whole lot of gig workers like the flexibility of this technology, and that won't change under these laws, but we do need to make sure that we are giving everyone a fair go. We can't continue to have a situation where the 21st-century technology of the gig platforms comes with 19th-century conditions for workers. The world has changed, Australia has changed. Our workplaces changed. It's about time that our policies and laws are changed to reflect that progress. Just because someone is working in the gig economy, it shouldn't mean they end up being paid less than they would if they had been an employee. We are not a country that has ever relied on tips to pay the bills, and we should never become one. It's that simple.

This proposal implements an election commitment to allow the Fair Work Commission to set minimum standards for employee-like workers, including in the gig economy. This reform has not come out of thin air. It is the result of a public discussion paper and over 100 meetings with employer groups, digital labour platforms and unions as well as consultation with state and territory government officials. This is a step in the right direction to bring employment laws to better reflect the working environments of today and, importantly, of tomorrow.

In my role as Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, I know our government and the parliament have significant challenges ahead of us when it comes to supporting Australians in their workplaces. Our system is not working well enough for enough Australians. Not enough people can get the support that they need and, when they do, it can often be patchy and inconsistent and leave much to be desired. But our reform to mental health support is not just about improving the provisions of mental health services and care. There are many levers that we can pull that sit outside of the health portfolio.

That is why I am so pleased to see that, in this proposal, first responders will have better support for mental ill health that has arisen due to their work. This proposal is to implement a presumption that if a first responder covered by the Safety Rehabilitation Compensation Act 1988 sustains post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD, they will not be required to prove that their employment significantly contributed to their PTSD for the purpose of the workers compensation claim. That's important—it's an important change. People who go through traumatic events have it tough enough. They should not be put through experiences that could contribute to furthering their distress. By putting the onus on workers, the process, as it currently sits, can, and often does, do that.

Eligible workers, including firefighters, the Federal Police, ambulance officers, paramedics and emergency services communication operators are covered by this change. I think it's important to note—and I know that this is something that everybody in this House is concerned about—that 39 per cent of emergency responders are diagnosed with a mental health condition at some point in their lives. That's 39 per cent of emergency responders: paramedics, firefighters and police. These are the people who come to our support in the most difficult and trying times. They are diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder at a rate that is twice as high as that of the general population. It just makes sense that we care for those who protect us.

Psychological injuries affect first responders disproportionately, as I have said, compared with other professions due to the frequent exposure to traumatic incidents and situations required in performing the ordinary duties which they do from day to day and week in, week out. However, first responders diagnosed with PTSD can find the workers compensation claims process challenging and, at times, stressful, and these can contribute further to their distress. The presumptive provisions are intended to provide a faster and streamlined claims process, which may reduce stress and trauma for first responders when submitting workers compensation claims. I think this is particularly important as we head into the bushfire season in Australia. I know this is a strong focus of Minister Murray Watt, our emergency services minister—to make sure that our first responders are safe. Given what they face in their day-to-day work, I think it's particularly important that this provision is introduced to make sure that there isn't further duress or stress during that claims process.

These are just three of the changes that this legislation will accomplish. This is an important piece of legislation and it's part of our broader reform agenda. It delivers on an election commitment to the Australian people. I believe, as I said earlier, and as others on this side of the House have said, that we have found the right balance to make sure that employees, including in the gig economy, are given the right support—that they aren't working on a 21st-century platform with 19th-century provisions. It's so all workers are protected and everybody is safe, including from psychological distress in their work.

As I said, these are just three of the main components of this legislation, but what it will do is so much more in protecting the rights of workers. I want to thank the minister for his work. He has engaged deeply with the business community and the unions, and broadly with the sector and the states and territories, to bring this legislation to the House. Like others on this side, I look forward to seeing it implemented across Australia—including in my community on the Central Coast of New South Wales. This is what the Albanese Labor government will do, and what we will always do on this side of the House: make sure that workers rights are protected and that they have the right supports and the right scaffolding around them to make sure they can do their jobs effectively—to do the work that they're employed to do and to do it in a safe way. This legislation will close those loopholes which are, at the moment, undermining the wages and conditions of too many Australians.

We are delivering on that promise on this reform—the election commitment we made to the Australian people. We are delivering on that promise for all Australians, and I'm very pleased to support this legislation. As I said, these are not radical changes. All we are doing is making the current laws work effectively for all Australians. These laws will strengthen the current workplace relations framework and provide certainty, fairness and, importantly, a level playing field for both businesses and workers.