Louise Miller-Frost (Boothby, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Australians expect to be paid a fair day's pay for a fair day's work. That's a principle that should be uncontroversial. It's how we as a community share around the benefits of economic activity. We harness our shared efforts for the betterment of the Australian community. If that day's work happens to occur at fairly unsociable hours—early morning starts, evenings, overnights, weekends, public holidays—then your compensation should take account of that additional ask and the impact that has on normal life, sleep patterns, family life, social life and health. If your fair day's work includes overtime, extra hours, then that should be compensated as well.

This bill, the Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Penalty and Overtime Rates) Bill 2025, continues the Albanese government's commitment to delivering fair pay and decent conditions for Australian workers, and it delivers on our election commitment to protect the entitlements of around 2.6 million award-reliant employees working in hospitality, retail, health, aged care, transport and clerical sectors, many of whom rely on weekend, holiday, overnight or overtime penalty rates to make ends meet.

I was one of those people who relied on penalty rates. I spent much of my 20s working the night shift in health services. I worked four hours on Thursday night; eight hours on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights; and four hours on Monday night. I worked every public holiday, including Christmas and Easter. I chose to do shiftwork because it enabled me to earn a sufficient income to live while I completed tertiary education. Penalty rates were a significant part of my wage—not a bonus but fair compensation. I loved my job and I loved being able to afford to study, but working unsociable hours does have significant impact on your life—your family life and your social life—and, we now know, also on your health. So this bill should be uncontroversial, and really it is surprising it should even be required, but apparently we need to legislate that right to penalty rates and overtime rates, even in the tight labour market we are experiencing in Australia.

Currently, penalty rates and overtime rates in modern awards can be rolled up into a single rate of pay, leaving some employees worse off. Employers in the retail, clerical and banking sectors currently have submissions active before the Fair Work Commission to trade away the penalty rates of lower paid workers in favour of increased base pay. While a pay rise might sound appealing, these proposals would leave many employees financially worse off, depending on their roster patterns. This bill closes that loophole.

These entitlements are an essential part of the pay structure for workers in these sectors, where work often occurs outside the standard nine-to-five hours. These are hardworking Australians who keep the country running on weekends, public holidays, late nights and through shiftwork. They deserve a system that fairly compensates them for this work.

We're talking about award-reliant employees working in hospitality, retail, health, aged care, transport, clerical sectors and more, and we're often talking about vulnerable, low-paid workers. The people working in these sectors are often part-time and casual staff, workers under the age of 35 and often women. Their penalty rates are not luxury bonuses; they are lifelines. They need them. Losing these entitlements would amount to thousands of dollars lost annually, often off a low salary base.

So this bill goes directly to protecting the rights and the pay cheques of those more vulnerable groups. By legislating protection, the bill delivers certainty for both workers and small-business owners, allowing long-term planning and avoiding destabilising award changes that undermine consumer confidence.

The bill is designed to be simple, fair and workable, providing clarity without additional complexity. It discourages improper award variations by limiting the commission's power to vary awards to reduce penalty rates or overtime rates. Proposed variations that result in lower take-home pay even if disguised via offset provisions must be refused. The changes will apply to any applications to make, vary or revoke a modern award on or after the commencement of the bill regardless of whether those applications were lodged before or after the commencement, but the bill will not apply retrospectively. However, the bill does not alter enterprise bargaining outcomes, award flexibility provisions under section 144 or offsetting mechanisms agreed under enterprise agreements providing they pass the better off overall test and do not unjustly erode loadings.

The explanatory memorandum confirms the bill is consistent with Australian's international human rights obligations, including the right to fair and just work conditions and the right to health and leisure. By reinforcing the modern award safety net, the legislation supports just remuneration and rest entitlements for people working non-standard hours.

I started this speech saying that the concept of a fair day's pay for a fair day's work should be uncontroversial and that people who work irregular, unsocial and long hours should be compensated for it. That should likewise be uncontroversial. We see this bill as a moral and economic imperative. I believe that the concept of a fair pay should transcend partisan politics. So no doubt it will surprise you to know that not everyone has immediately jumped on board. Some employer groups, particularly representing retail, hospitality and banking interests, have opposed it, and the opposition, I understand, is yet to commit to a position. We saw the shadow minister yesterday trying to delay this legislation. Employer groups argue that they should retain the freedom to negotiate away loadings in exchange for higher base pay. However, we know that such deals often disproportionately disadvantage award-reliant workers whose hours coincide with penalty times. The bill does not outlaw bargaining; it simply ensures that no-one ends up worse off. Opposing it therefore seems to indicate an intention to make the worker worse off.

Another criticism is that the bill would undermine the Fair Work Commission's role. However, under this legislation the commission remains free to interpret and apply awards providing it upholds the newly legislated principle. This bill does not remove independence. It ensures awards maintain their purpose as a protective floor.

A third concern raised is that this will affect business viability. While we recognise small businesses face challenges, this bill is carefully crafted to avoid causing undue hardship. It exempts flexibility terms and only restricts award variations that reduce worker entitlements. The government has committed to consulting small-business stakeholders as the bill proceeds.

The Albanese government is a government that cares about the rights of workers. We know that as a society and as an economy we only profit when we all profit. 'No-one held back, no-one left behind' is a statement that says, 'We are all in this together and we need to look after each other.' This bill goes to protecting the rights at work of some of our more vulnerable workers—young people, women, shiftworkers, part-time workers and casual workers.

In the last term of government we passed a raft of industrial relations legislation which went to making the lives of Australian workers better so they can get ahead. The secure jobs, better pay legislation introduced multi-employer bargaining, ended pay secrecy and strengthened gender pay gap measures and pay equity. The Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Protecting Worker Entitlements) Act expanded parental leave and embedded superannuation in the National Employment Standards. Part 1 of the closing loopholes legislation criminalised wage theft and introduced the same job, same pay provision for labour hire workers. Part 2 introduced minimum standards for gig workers. The right-to-disconnect laws allow workers to refuse unreasonable contact outside work hours. We backed a pay rise for minimum paid workers, aged-care workers and childcare workers, and now we are legislating to protect penalty rates and overtime rates.

This is a government that has the backs of workers, and we are legislating to make sure workers also benefit from the prosperity of this wonderful country. This bill is about principles of fairness, decency and dignity. It anchors in law a protection that millions of Australians depend upon. It reflects our commitment to safeguarding lowest-paid workers amid economic pressures A and it reaffirms the integrity of Australia's modern award system. I'd like to thank the minister for this latest tranche of legislation, and I commend the bill to the House.

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