Carina Garland (Chisholm, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm really proud to speak on this important legislation. The Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Penalty and Overtime Rates) Bill 2025 is delivering on our key election commitment to protect penalty rates, and this is legislation that Australians overwhelmingly supported at the last election. The intent of this bill is simple. If you are a worker who relies on the modern award safety net and you work weekends, public holidays, early mornings or late nights, then this Albanese Labor government believes that you deserve to have your wages protected. We believe that you deserve laws that ensure that pay will not go backwards. That's why it is so important that, as one of the very first orders of business, we're delivering for workers. This will mean a lot to workers in my electorate of Chisholm and for workers right across Australia.

I'm really proud that in our first term during the 47th Parliament, the Albanese government delivered landmark workplace relations reforms with a clear goal, which was to get wages moving again for Australian workers.

We addressed and closed loopholes that undermined principles of fairness and improved access to secure jobs and better pay. We reinvigorated enterprise bargaining and, significantly, put gender equality at the heart of workplace relations. We improved workplace conditions and protections right across the board. And in every single wage review since taking office we have backed, unapologetically—in fact, proudly—minimum wage increases.

A very important memory for me will always be the moment I stood with the then opposition leader, now Prime Minister, when he was asked during the 2022 election campaign whether he supported a $1 pay rise for Australia's lowest-paid workers, and he said—famously, now—'Absolutely.' At the time, and I think it's important that we remember this, he was criticised roundly by those opposite for making such a claim. Well, our government, our Prime Minister, has been backing in pay rises for Australia's lowest-paid workers ever since, with the support of the Australian community. And of course in our most recent submission to the Fair Work Commission we called for an economically sustainable real-wage increase for workers on the minimum wage. This side of the House is really pleased that from 1 July minimum wages have been increased by 3.5 per cent.

These are significant reforms, and we've fought hard to deliver them. Labor governments will always support workers to receive fair pay and decent conditions. We know that our changes to legislation are being felt by workers in our communities and are delivering improved outcomes, not just for workers but also for their employers. These are really important outcomes that are significant for people in my electorate of Chisholm. These are outcomes that have resulted in thousands of workers receiving up to $60,000 extra in their pay packets each year. One of the greatest joys in my job—and I've mentioned this before, in other speeches to this place—has been to visit some of our frontline service workers. We know that many of our frontline service workers in this country are reliant on minimum wages. I'm proud that I can always look them in the eye and tell them we're doing our very best in this place to ensure that they receive the wage increases they deserve.

It is disappointing—a great shame—that those opposite have not taken the opportunity to support some of our hardest-working, lowest-paid workers. Our government has always advocated to the Fair Work Commission for minimum and award wage rises—every single year since we were elected in 2002. That is quite a contrast to when those opposite sat on the treasury benches and put wage stagnation and low wages at the centre of their economic policy. I think that is a real shame for this country.

Labor governments want to see wages increase and to see workers being valued for all they do in our communities. Since we've come to government we've reinvigorated our bargaining system, which means employers and workers can reach agreements in workplaces that do result in higher wages through negotiation and receive better conditions and better productivity. We've ensured that gender equality and job security have become new objects in the Fair Work Act. We've banned pay secrecy clauses. We've criminalised intentional wage theft and we've stopped the underpayment of workers through the labour hire loophole. We've introduced world-leading minimum standards for road transport workers. We've ended the forced permanent casual loophole—which does seem like an oxymoron, but it was the way many workplaces functioned in this country for too long. And we've provided a proper pathway for conversion for casuals who do want that. We've also given workers a right to clock off through the right to disconnect.

It's important to understand, too, that more than half of employers who responded to a recent Australian HR Institute survey have indicated that Labor's right-to-disconnect laws have in fact improved employee engagement and productivity. Worker wellbeing is important to productivity in this country. The latest figures on enterprise bargaining show that nearly 2.7 million Australians are now covered by a current enterprise agreement, which is the highest coverage on record since the system began. Importantly, our laws are working to deliver real wage increases, improved conditions and more cooperative and productive workplaces.

We are continuing that work with this bill, which will protect penalty rates and overtime rates in modern awards. Penalty rates and overtime rates do matter. They are a longstanding feature and a vital part of the modern award safety net which supports some of Australia's lowest-paid workers. We know that, right now, the safety net can unfortunately be undermined. Under current rules, penalty rates and overtime rates can be rolled up into a single rate of pay that leaves employees worse off. I would hope that no-one in this place would like to see employees worse off in this country. We know that there are current cases on foot where employers in the retail, clerical and banking sectors have made applications to the Fair Work Commission to trade away penalty rates of lower-paid workers on awards. Sadly, we know that the coalition have always been too willing to back these kinds of positions. We on this side of the House take a very different approach, really wanting to back in fairness for Australian workers. We know that people put their faith in a Labor government to be custodians of the Australian workplace relations system and to look out for workers' best interests, especially where clear and obvious gaps exist.

This bill here before the House is about making sure that we are taking action to ensure that the best interests of workers is at the heart of our workplace relations system. This legislation will mean that proposals, as I mentioned earlier, to undermine worker pay cannot be included in modern awards. It's really ensuring that the safety net remains. We are going to protect the penalty rates and overtime rates of low-paid workers and enshrine protections for penalty rates and overtime rates in modern awards. In practical terms, this will mean workers won't have to worry about that safety net. We have done this because Labor governments are committed to strengthening the modern award system without adding unnecessary complexity. The bill will not stop parties engaging in ways to make awards easier or from ensuring that award terms can be adaptable to modern working needs.

We want this legislation passed as a top priority, which is why we're here in week 2 of the sitting weeks of parliament and this has been introduced. This is really important. We need to do all we can to protect workers from loopholes that could see their take-home pay go backwards. Modern awards are so important in providing entitlements such as pay, hours of work, rosters, breaks, penalty rates and overtime. We really want to protect those gains and ensure that the safety net of minimum wages and entitlements for Australian lowest-paid workers is maintained. We know that people who are covered by these awards are more likely to be women, work part time, be under 35 and also often be employed on a casual basis. So these are marginalised workers as well that we are seeking to ensure are protected.

This is a very important piece of legislation. We, of course, respect the role of the Fair Work Commission as an independent industrial tribunal. They are the umpire. That role is unchanged under this legislation. What we want to see is enterprise agreements deliver better deals for working people, better wages and conditions and more cooperative and productive workplaces. Our government has really been focused on reinvigorating the enterprise bargaining system such that we now have a record-high number of employees covered by federal enterprise agreements, and we are already seeing that these agreements are delivering real wage increases for Australian workers.

As of 31 March this year, the Fair Work Commission approved over 9,800 agreements covering nearly 2.5 million employees. Also as of 31 March this year, almost 2.7 million employees were covered by a current enterprise agreement, which is the highest coverage since bargaining began in 1991.

Ultimately this bill is about fairness. It is about respecting the millions of Australians, including thousands in my electorate of Chisholm, who work public holidays, weekends, late nights and early mornings to keep Australia going. In this spirit, I commend the bill to the House.

Julie-Ann Campbell (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

When I was at school, my local golden arches was a short walk away from my house. I was a frequent visit to that Macca's. Sometimes it was for a Happy Meal, but mostly it was because I worked there as a casual, like thousands of young Australians all across the country. Back then, my hourly wage had a four in front of it. It wasn't much, but that's what penalty rates were there for and that's why they were all the more important. They remain so for millions of people who rely on them every single day.

Labor has always been at the forefront of making sure that people are paid fairly and of returning penalty rates and other critical award conditions to millions of workers across the country. The Monday to Friday, nine-to-five working day is still the norm in our society. We value weekends as downtime and public holidays as special. The baker who starts at 3 am every day to bake your fresh bread, the barista who makes your coffee on a Sunday morning and the nurse working through the wee hours of the night—all of these people work to serve others. All of these people work to serve our community. Those who work when the rest of us are enjoying time off from work deserve to be recognised with fair pay and conditions.

It was a Labor government and a Labor election commitment to protect penalty rates for 2.6 million workers who are on modern awards. That is exactly what the Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Penalty and Overtime Rates) Bill 2025 will do. This is another example of the Albanese government fulfilling its commitment to delivery. The Prime Minister has made it clear from the very outset that this is not a government that just says things, this is not a government that talks; this is a government that makes commitments and follows through on them. We saw that last week. We've seen that this week. We've seen it in 20 per cent off HECS, we've seen it in the introduction of cheaper medicines and now, today, we see it in this bill to make sure that the commitments that we have made to working people across the breadth and depth of this country on penalty rates and overtime rates are delivered.

Modern awards stipulate employee entitlements, such as pay, hours of work, rosters, breaks, allowances, penalty rates and overtime. They are part of the critical safety net of minimum wages and entitlements for Australia's lowest-paid workers. If you're on an award and you work on the weekend, this bill is for you. If you work early in the morning or late at night, this bill is for you. If you work on public holidays, this bill is for you. Your wage must reflect that, and your wage must be protected. You deserve to know what your entitlements are, and you deserve to know that your entitlements are secure.

I think it's important, when we talk about penalty rates and when we talk about overtime rates, to acknowledge what penalty rates are. To do that, it's important to understand what they are not. Penalty rates are not a bonus. Penalty rates are not an extra. Penalty rates are not a prize. You'd be forgiven for thinking that penalty rates are any of those things, if you listen to those opposite talk about them.

Penalty rates are fundamentally, at their core, a wage. Penalty rates are an entitlement. And penalty rates are critical to ensuring that those who are the lowest paid in our society are given the entitlements they deserve to help them get through every single day.

One of the things that became very clear when speaking to thousands of Moreton residents over the last year was just how much workers rely on their penalty rates. The Albanese Labor government believes in people earning more and keeping more of what they earn, and our No. 1 focus remains continuing to deliver cost-of-living relief for the Australian people.

This bill amends the Fair Work Act 2009. It will establish a clear principle that, when the Fair Work Commission is making, varying or revoking modern awards as per its remit, it must ensure no reduction in penalty rates or overtime rates. It also outlines that modern awards do not include any terms that replace employee penalty rates or overtime entitlements where the result would be a reduction in the employee's take-home pay.

This bill is necessary for several reasons. Firstly, modern awards can role up penalty rates and overtime rates into one rate of pay which can leave workers worse off, and we are a Labor government and we do not leave workers worse off. Secondly, there is an urgency to this bill. The Fair Work Commission is currently assessing submissions from employers in the retail, clerical and banking sectors to remove the penalty rates of lower paid workers from awards. If these employer applications were successful, workers would stand to loose thousands of dollars each year, and that is something that working people cannot afford and that working people should not cop.

We need to protect these workers' penalty rates. After all, the hard workers in retail and hospitality often work outside those usual nine-to-five hours and work across the weekends, when the rest of us are spending time with our families. Finally, relative to all employees, award employees are more likely to be women under 35 who work part time or casually. The Albanese Labor government will safeguard their wages as well as their participation in our economy.

We know that those opposite will not fight for workers' rights. In fact, they have a longstanding opposition to penalty rates and overtime rates. We've seen it time and time again. We saw it in 2007 with the introduction of work choices and with the introduction of AWA and the corrosive effects that those had on our entire society, not just working people but their families. They were blatant about their support to cut penalty rates for retail and hospitality workers in 2017, and just yesterday we saw the antics of the shadow minister for industrial relations and employment as he sought to delay a bill which only seeks to secure protections for penalty rates and overtime rates for the working people of this country. In contrast to that, Labor has a proud record for advocating for higher wages for workers.

I've spent much of my working life standing up for and standing beside working people, and, when you stand beside working people when they are facing significant challenges at work, whether that be facing discrimination in the workplace, whether that be facing a loss of wages or whether that be discrimination, an unfair dismissal or being sacked—these are all things that impact working people every day. When you stand next to those workers, you realise how critical pay and conditions are. The only things that those opposite have ever stood for when it comes to workers are stripping their pay, stripping their conditions and making their lives worse off.

This bill continues the work of the Albanese Labor government to implement workplace relations reform, to uphold the rights of workers and, crucially, to get wages moving again. Labor has consistently backed in minimum wage increases at every annual wage review since May 2022. Minimum wages have again been increased from the first of this month by 3.5 per cent. This is direct cost-of-living support for three million workers—one that working people deserve—including cleaners, retail workers and early childhood educators. ABS data in May this year showed that annual real wages have grown for 18 months in a row under the Albanese Labor government.

That's growth for six quarters in a row.

Those opposite—we saw them do it during the election campaign; we've seen them do it again in this chamber this week and last week—would have you believe that wages can't be increased without negatively impacting other parts of the economy, but the facts speak for themselves. They said that inflation couldn't come down if we were giving working people more money, and we have seen inflation come down from having a six in front of it to a two in front of it. They said that we couldn't keep unemployment low if we were giving working people more money, and we see unemployment at record lows under this Albanese Labor government. They say it again and again, and what we know to be true is that these are scare campaigns designed to make sure that working people do not have the wages and conditions that they need and deserve, and this bill is there to protect them. This is in stark contrast to the years of stagnation under the former government, where wages fell for five quarters leading up to the 2022 election.

The wage price index grew 0.9 per cent in the March quarter 2025 to be 3.4 per cent higher through the year. Real wages grew one per cent through the year to the March quarter 2025. More than one million jobs were created during the government's first term, and that is a record for a parliamentary term. The landmark same-job same-pay reforms delivered pay increases for workers across the country. It ensured that those working as labour hire are not paid less than permanent employees when they are doing the same job. This reform had further benefits in improving culture in the sector, increasing the number of permanent roles and promoting stability across the economy.

Labor has passed legislation that has fairness for workers at its core. The right-to-disconnect legislation protects workers after they've clocked off for the day, and the closing loopholes legislation empowers casual employees, gig workers and truck drivers. Eligible casual employees can now choose whether they want to switch to a permanent basis at work. Those opposite wanted to walk this reform back, but the Australian people told us what they wanted on 3 May. The Australian people told us that they wanted cost-of-living relief. The Australian people told us that they wanted 20 per cent off student debt. The Australian people told us that they wanted cheaper medicines. The Australian people told us that they wanted penalty rates and overtime rates fundamentally protected. These are the things that this Albanese Labor government is delivering—not tomorrow, not the day after, not next year, but today and this week as our first priority as we come into this place.

At the first speech I was able to make last week, I paid tribute to a number of local working people in my community. I paid tribute to Maria, a teacher aide in Acacia Ridge. I paid tribute to Brian, a blind-cleaning company scheduler in Annerley. I paid tribute to Ryan, a young apprentice tradie living in Salisbury. Each of these people have a story to tell when it comes to the economy of our nation. Each of these people make up the bedrock of what keeps our economy moving. And what they deserve is the wages and the entitlements that allow them to keep doing that for our country. So, when we talk about this bill, we are not talking about an amorphous impact on something that we don't understand. We are talking about real working people and the impacts that penalty rates and overtime rates have on them every single day—and not only on them but on their families and their communities.

It is important that this bill be passed urgently so the Fair Work Commission can apply the amended legislation to the cases of the retail, clerical and banking sectors that are currently before it. The amended legislation will come into effect the day after it receives royal assent, reflecting both this urgency to protect working people and the Albanese Labor government's commitment to implementing our election promises, something that we have seen again and again in these first two sitting weeks. This bill ensures the fair and decent treatment of award based workers, hardworking Australians who rely on penalty rates and overtime rates every single day.

And this is in Labor's DNA.

It's at our core. It's what we believe in. It's what we do every single day. We wake up in the morning with the drive to make sure that working people have a fair go, and you cannot have a fair go unless you are receiving what you need to when it comes to wages and when it comes to penalty rates. This is what this legislation is designed to do—to protect the fair go of working people in this country.

Only a Labor government will continue to implement cost-of-living support; only a Labor government will stand up for working people; only a Labor government values their contributions, not just on one day but on every day; and only a Labor government will safeguard the penalty and overtime rates that they deserve for their hard work each and every day. I commend the bill to the House, and I want to make sure that people understand that this bill is for everyone who works every day and deserves those penalty rates. (Time expired)

Louise Miller-Frost (Boothby, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to 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.

Gordon Reid (Robertson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today in this chamber it is with great pride that I speak on the Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Penalty and Overtime Rates) Bill 2025, one that protects the penalty and overtime rates of Australian workers. It is a bill that goes to the very heart of Labor values: the protection and safeguarding of the working men and women on this country.

Penalty rates are a critical pillar in Australia's industrial and employment relations framework and one that Labor has always fought for and will continue to fight for now and into the future. Penalty rates are a lifeline for millions of Australians. And they are not a perk; penalty rates are not a privilege. They are recognition of the sacrifices made by millions of workers—workers who give up their weekends, who give up their night, who give up their public holidays and who give up their precious time with their families, with their loved ones, in order to keep our great country running. This is the retail worker who opens up the shop on a Sunday. It's a cafe worker who's serving you your coffee. It's the nurse working on Christmas and New Year's Day. And it's the aged-care worker who, on Anzac Day, is looking after our most vulnerable.

For many, especially our young people, penalty rates can be the difference between scraping by and saving for a better future for themselves and for their family. Yet, time and time again, election after election, debate after debate, we have seen attempts by some to undermine and to cut penalty and overtime rates, and that is a shame. It is often under the disguise of workplace modernisation and workplace flexibility. But let's call this out for what it is. It's the erosion of dignity. It's the calculated effort to weaken the value of the worker, to strip away compensation for unsociable hours and to shift the balance further in favour of profit and further away from people.

The economic arguments made by those seeking to cut or to slash penalty rates are flawed at best. They say cutting penalty rates will create more jobs, but we know it doesn't. They say it'll help small business. Well, we know it won't. And they say workers will benefit in the long run. Well, no they won't. What happens when you cut penalty rates? It means the working men and women of Australia have less money in their pockets. They spend less at their local cafe. They delay filling that prescription. They cancel a class. They cancel a dental check-up. They cancel a trip to see family. The economy slows, not because of this conjured-up concept that people are lazy but because they're stretched too thin. Wage-led growth is not some abstract economic theory; it's common sense. When working people earn a decent living they often spend that money in their communities. They stimulate demand. They keep our local businesses afloat. And yes, they pay tax—supporting the very services that we all rely on: our schools, our hospitals and our transport systems. They buy coffee. They buy burgers and meals at our local restaurants.

Conversely, when wages stagnate and when penalty rates are stripped away from workers, what we see is a hollowing out of demand, an increase in casualisation and a dangerous widening of the inequality gap. Penalty rates also matter for productivity too, a major focus of the Albanese Labor government in this term, because when you pay people fairly they stay in their employment, they show up, they learn and they do more. They become experienced. They become dependable. They become proud of the work that they turn up to do. That's how you build a productive workforce, not by slashing the pay and churning through underpaid staff like they're disposable.

Young Australians are particularly vulnerable to these attacks on penalty rates and overtime rates. Let's remember they are overrepresented in sectors like hospitality and retail, which are among some of the lowest paid in our economy. Stripping penalty rates from young workers is more than just unfair; it's short sighted, and it is economically reckless. How can they save for a home? How can they plan for a life, when their income is subject to the whims of a workplace deal or a regulatory backflip? We should not be building a future that asks the next generation to accept less—less pay, less stability, less opportunity than the one before them.

The Labor Party stands for fairness—we always have. It's in our DNA. We believe that workers should not have to fight for the crumbs at the end of the table. They deserve a seat at that table. They deserve pay that reflects not just the hours that they work but the hours that they sacrifice: it's the birthdays, the barbecues, the weekends away. It is the time with their children that they are sacrificing.

Penalty rates are about justice. They are about balance. Above all, they are about respect for time, for effort and are for the people who carry the weight of this country on their backs every single day, every minute of every hour. So, to those who seek to abolish or those that seek to diminish or those that seek to block penalty rates, like we saw the shadow minister do yesterday, I say this: you aren't pursuing reform; you are pursuing regression. You are not supporting small business; you are punishing workers. You are not modernising this economy; you are eroding its very foundations of fairness and of equality.

Let us be clear here today. The Australia we should all be fighting for is one where work is valued, effort is rewarded and no-one is left behind simply because they don't work Monday to Friday, nine to five. That is why this government, the Albanese Labor government, will always defend penalty rates, whether it be in this chamber or out in our community. We will always fight to secure and safeguard penalty rates. We will stand with every nurse, every retail assistant and every shiftworker who simply wants to be paid fairly for the time that they sacrifice, because, in the Labor Party, we don't just talk about supporting workers; we act.

In closing, to outline the Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Penalty and Overtime Rates) Bill 2025, it adds a new section to the act, 135A, to establish a clear principle requiring that, when exercising its powers to make, vary or revoke modern awards, the Fair Work Commission must ensure that specified penalty or overtime rates are not reduced, and:

… modern awards do not include terms that substitute employees' entitlements to receive penalty rates or overtime rates where those terms would have the effect of reducing the additional remuneration … any employee would otherwise receive.

The bill will commence the day after it receives royal assent, reflecting the government's election commitment to move quickly to protect penalty rates and overtime rates for Australia's lowest-paid workers. It will ensure award-reliant workers continue to be fairly compensated for working overtime; unsocial, irregular or unpredictable hours; weekends, public holidays or shifts.

The bill preserves the commission's existing powers under section 144 to insert flexibility terms into its awards. That allows employers and employees to enter into individual flexibility arrangements, including to vary penalty and overtime rates, as long as the existing legislated safeguard of ensuring they are better-off compared to the standard terms is met. The bill also preserves the commission's existing powers under section 160 of the act to vary a modern award to remove any ambiguity or uncertainty, or to correct an error. The safeguards in the enterprise bargaining framework will remain unchanged, and parties would still be able to bargain at the enterprise level to reduce existing penalty rates and overtime rates so long as the commission is satisfied the enterprise agreement meets the better off overall test.

Finally, this is a bill that goes to the heart of what Labor values are—and that is ensuring that penalty rates and overtime rates are protected. It is ensuring that we protect the fairness, equality and dignity of all workers right across this country, not just on the New South Wales Central Coast but right across New South Wales and right across Australia. I know that as the federal member for Robertson I will continue to defend that, and I know that everyone on this side of the chamber will continue to defend penalty rates. We know from the shenanigans that were undertaken yesterday by the shadow minister that the Liberal Party really don't have any concept of what workers' dignity or effort is. All they do is simply talk; they don't act. That's what the Labor government does here on this side—act in the best interests of working Australians.

Simon Kennedy (Cook, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm moving an amendment to the amendment moved by the member for Wentworth, as circulated in my name, because this government has failed to meaningfully consult Australian small businesses on the impact of this bill. We're condemning the government for refusing to allow this bill to be referred to a parliamentary committee for proper scrutiny and stakeholder input.

No regulatory impact statement has been provided to assess how this will affect small business. The government can't even say—

Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order, Member for Cook! Just a moment. The amendment hasn't been circulated. If you could, read it out to the House, and we can seek a seconder at the end of your contribution.

Simon Kennedy (Cook, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That all words after "House" be omitted with a view to substituting the following words:

(1) notes the Government has failed to consult meaningfully with Australian small businesses on the impact of the Bill;

(2) condemns the Government for refusing to allow the Bill to be referred to a parliamentary committee for proper scrutiny and stakeholder input;

(3) expresses concern that:

(a) no Regulatory Impact Statement has been provided to assess how the Bill will affect small business employment and operating costs;

(b) the Government cannot say how many small businesses will be impacted by the proposed changes; and

(c) key industry stakeholders, including the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Australian Industry Group, Australian Retailers Association and the Minerals Council of Australia, have warned the Bill will undermine flexibility, increase compliance complexity and reduce productivity; and

(4) calls on the Government to:

(a) immediately release a Regulatory Impact Statement;

(b) publish modelling of the Bill's economic and employment effects on small businesses;

(c) restore a clear consultation pathway for small business stakeholders; and

(d) amend the Bill to ensure the Fair Work Commission retains sufficient flexibility to approve award variations that enable higher pay and simpler conditions where supported by both employers and employees".

Because of this failure of consultation, because this government has failed to get proper scrutiny or proper input and because there has been no regulatory impact statement to assess what the impact will be on small business, it is no surprise that under this government over 6,000 companies went into external administration in my home state of New South Wales. It's because of this failure to consult small business.

I see this failure to consult and what's actually happening every day in my electorate of Cook.

If we look at Caringbah, a major retail site in the heart of my electorate that is now dilapidated, small businesses are leaving. Mavericks chicken shop has closed. The local dance studios have closed. It's not even just small businesses now closing because of this failure to consult business, like the government has done with this bill. For example, we have a former Franklins supermarket purchased by Aldi that has been closed for 11 years. They cannot open that and every day it is getting worse and worse. In the last financial year alone 6,000 closed.

We need a regulatory impact statement, because otherwise we won't know what the cost to small business will be. This government does not care about the cost to small business. They're riding roughshod over the process, with no transparent economic modelling.

I'll take the interjection, because this man has done a lot of modelling. He modelled the energy prices, and he couldn't model those either. It's no surprise he doesn't want transparent economic modelling, because he doesn't want transparent energy modelling either. They don't believe in transparent modelling, because it might say something that they don't like. They know how to rig it—they know how to say it'll give you $275 off your energy bill—but they don't know how to do it properly. They haven't had real consultation with those who carry the payroll.

There's no flexibility. The Fair Work Commission can still award variations when both workers and employers agree to higher pay for simpler terms. These aren't radical demands. This is good governance and good process that respects small business. What's at stake? The businesses in Australia and the businesses in my home electorate of Cook. They don't oppose fair pay. They don't oppose penalty rates. They support their workers. They know the value of loyalty and hard work.

I see businesses every day in my home electorate—Stapleton Meats—where they put their employees first. They pay their employees first and pay themselves last. I've met business owners up and down Caringbah who are right on the edge. They're telling me they're three or six months away from closing. They're not paying themselves, they're making a loss and they keep that business open so they can help those people who work for them to pay their home loans and help those who work for them to send their kids to school. These people feel left out of the conversation. They oppose this legislation. They oppose the complexity being heaped on their shoulders at a time when margins are shrinking and survival, not expansion, is the only goal. Small businesses are shrinking.

The small businesses in my electorate aren't asking for favours; they're just asking for fair process. They just want to be consulted. They just want to know how this bill will impact them when they are struggling. These small businesses in Caringbah have got their backs against the wall, are fighting for survival and are trying to stay open are seeing businesses flee off that main street. I call on this this Labor government, on the Labor state government and on the Labor council in the Sutherland shire to listen to them—to listen to their pleas for help. I hope you'll listen to this amendment. Let's avoid another Caringbah-style example of this government getting its way instead of enabling process that allows small business to be heard. Let's pass this amendment and give our small business a voice, not just a verdict.

Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the amendment seconded?

Darren Chester (Gippsland, National Party, Shadow Minister for Veterans’ Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the amendment and reserve my right to speak.

Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question now is that the amendment to the amendment moved by the member for Wentworth be agreed to.

Ali France (Dickson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Did you know that some of Australia's biggest employers are trying to reduce penalty rates for retail workers, clerical workers and even banking workers? Big retailers like Coles, Woolworths, Kmart and Costco are currently pushing to scrap penalty rates in the Fair Work Commission. We know, if successful, this would leave hundreds of thousands of low-paid workers worse off. That is why we introduced new laws to protect penalty rates and stop take-home pay packets from being lowered. We know young people, students, families and, in particular, low-paid women need those penalty rates to pay the bills and get ahead.

We promised to protect penalty rates during the election campaign, and now we are delivering. Yesterday, we saw the member for Goldstein try to delay our laws, to delay penalty rate protections. I emphasise the word 'try' because he referred the bill to a committee that doesn't exist. But we know what those opposite think about penalty rates. In 2017, they were supportive of the Fair Work Commission's decision to reduce penalty rates for more than 700,000 workers in retail, hospitality, fast food and pharmacy awards. They argued then that the cuts were 'helpful', that cuts to penalty rates would create more jobs and that penalty rates were 'killing jobs'. Sound familiar? They're saying the same thing today. We just heard the same scare campaign from the member for Cook. He obviously does not support this bill.

The thing is, researchers looked into the impact of penalty rate reductions, analysed employment data of more than 1,800 employees and 200 owner-managers in the retail and hospitality industry. Surprise, surprise, they found no evidence of jobs being created by cutting penalty rates. All it did was reduce the take-home pay of low-income workers and the flow-on effect was less money spent in the wider economy. That means less money spent at local small businesses.

Casual retail workers in my electorate of Dixon earn about $26 an hour for weekday work and about $40 an hour for Sunday work. This can make a huge difference. A retail worker would be $353 worse off over the Easter break. A pharmacy worker would be $1,018 worse off over the Easter break. A cook at a cafe, a chef, would be $562 worse off over the Easter break. These entitlements are essential for workers in sectors like retail, admin and hospitality, where they are often working outside the normal nine-to-five hours. It's the workers at Coles, including at my local Arana Hills, who help us all with our groceries. It's the chef who cooks me up a big Aussie breakfast on the weekend at our local cafe. It's the admin worker who is working overtime in health. They keep the country running on weekends, public holidays, late nights and through shiftwork.

Award reliant employees are more likely to be women, work part-time, be under the age of 35 and be employed on a casual basis. These workers deserve to be paid fairly for missing out on time with their families and loved ones. These are the workers who can least afford to have their pay cut, but we know those on the other side struggle to understand modern-day workers.

Like many members on this side of the House, during the recent election I knocked on so many doors in my community of Dixon. I knocked on so many doors of houses that had people working from home. Many of the people I talked to, that I had a chat with, would often say when I came to the door, 'I have to be quick because I'm working from home.' These dedicated professionals were shocked to hear that those opposite wanted to strip them of their ability to work from home and force them back into the office. We all know what happened next. The coalition, those opposite, performed a spectacular mid-campaign backflip, realising that would mean a huge change, particularly for female workers.

This is just another example of how they don't understand the plight of working people. We know they want to strip workers of their entitlements. The Albanese Labor government is committed to delivering and protecting fair pay and decent conditions for Australian workers.

It is part of our core business, and so it should be.

Electorates like mine are made up of good working-class people. They work hard to provide for their families, pay the bills, pay off their mortgage or save for a house. Many work early mornings, late nights, weekends or public holidays to do so. We took to the election a commitment to protect the penalty rates of modern award reliant workers, and that's exactly what we're doing.

This builds on the Albanese Labor government's strong record of protecting and improving workers' rights and conditions. This government has advocated to the Fair Work Commission for minimum and award wage rises every single year since we were elected in 2022. We banned pay secrecy clauses and criminalised intentional wage theft. We stopped the underpayment of workers through the use of the labour hire loopholes. We ended the forced permanent casual loophole, providing a proper pathway to conversion for casuals who want it, and we gave workers a right to clock off through the right to disconnect.

This bill adds new section 135A to the act to establish a clear principle that—when exercising its powers to make, vary or revoke modern awards—the Fair Work Commission must ensure that the specified penalty or overtime rates are not reduced and that modern awards do not include terms that substitute employees' entitlements to receive penalty or overtime rate where those terms would have the effect of reducing the additional remuneration any employee would have otherwise received.

The bill will commence the day after it receives royal assent, reflecting the government's election commitment to move quickly to protect penalty and overtime rates for Australia's lowest paid workers. It will ensure award reliant workers continue to be fairly compensated for working overtime; unsocial, irregular or unpredictable hours; weekends; public holidays; or shifts. The bill preserves the commission's existing powers under section 144 to insert flexible terms into awards that allow employers and employees to enter into individual flexibility arrangements, including to vary penalty and overtime rates as long as the existing legislated safeguard of ensuring they are better off compared to the standard terms is met. The words 'ensuring they are better off' are so important. The bill also preserves the commission's existing powers under section 160 of the act to vary a modern award to remove an ambiguity or uncertainty or to correct an error.

The safeguards in the enterprise bargaining framework remain unchanged. Parties will still be able to bargain at the enterprise level to reduce existing penalty rates and overtime rates, so long as the commission is satisfied the enterprise agreement meets the better off overall test, ensuring that the take-home pay of these low-paid workers is not reduced. That's incredibly important. I say to the people of Dickson who are working this weekend: you've earned every single cent of your penalty rates. Thanks to this bill, we will help protect that right.

Patrick Gorman (Perth, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I speak in support of the Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Penalty and Overtime Rates) Bill 2025, as introduced by the minister, because millions of workers will benefit from that bill. Penalty rates are not an optional extra; they are essential to the household budgets of millions of Australians. People across this country rely on penalty rates, and that is why the minister and this government seek to protect them.

It shows the priorities of this government, a Labor government, that wants to deliver for working Australians. As the Prime Minister said, when announcing that this would be one of the first pieces of legislation introduced into the 48th Parliament:

Our number one focus is continuing to deliver cost of living relief to Australians. Protecting penalty rates for millions of workers is an important part of that – making sure Australians can earn more and keep more of what they earn.

This is about people who are currently earning money, who are relying on that, and who have been compensated for their hard work, often at unsociable hours, for many years. It is about giving them certainty for their household budgets, making sure that these penalty rates that have been relied upon for many in my electorate and across this country are there for the future.

It's not that long ago, and it's in my memory and the memory of pretty much everyone in this place, that we had a Liberal Party determined not only to cut penalty rates but also to sack 41,000 public servants, because the Liberal Party and the National Party are always finding new cheeky, sneaky ways of attacking working Australians. We remember when WorkChoices fell over, and they said that they'll never go back to it. They then sat in government for nine long years, where they put low wages as 'a deliberate design feature' of their economic plan. In the lead-up to the most recent election, we saw the Liberal Party send one of their senior frontbenchers to the launch of the HR Nicholls Society's paper The employment act: a modern blueprint for the future of work. What is that modern blueprint that the Liberal Party was so enthusiastic to send senior frontbenchers to cheer on? It was a paper that called for the abolishment of all awards. It called for award pay rates to be abolished and to for one lower minimum adult pay rate to be set. It called for the abolishment of the Fair Work Commission and of the Fair Work Ombudsman. And who was there as this paper was launched but senior members of the then Liberal opposition, cheering on as that was released.

Thankfully, the Australian people knew what was at stake when they made their decision on 3 May, and they knew which side of this House backs working Australians. They know that 2.6 million Australians will benefit from this bill when it passes this House. It builds upon a very proud record of achievement in our first term. It was this government who, in the lead-up, in 2022, backed a $1-an-hour pay rise for minimum and award wage earners. At the time, that was roundly criticised by those opposite, but, as we saw and as the history books will show, it was good for working people, particularly at a time when we had high inflation driven by global events.

Over the last term we've brought in legislation to reinvigorate our bargaining system, meaning that employers and workers can reach agreements in their workplace, resulting in higher wages, better conditions and better productivity. That's what the enterprise bargaining process is all about. We introduced and passed legislation that put gender equality and job security as new principles of the Fair Work Act. We banned pay secrecy clauses, which we know were disproportionately affecting women and holding wages back. We criminalised wage theft, making sure that some of the practices we'd seen were well and truly outlawed under the laws of this land.

We stopped the underpayment of workers through labour hire loopholes. Some in this place still advocate for those loopholes to be reopened. We closed them, and proudly so. As I was doorknocking during the election, I bumped into someone who had benefited from the closure of those loopholes around their work in the aviation industry. They said, 'Thank you,' not just for them but for their colleagues. They hadn't felt comfortable being in a workplace where people had unfair pay differences when they were doing the same work. They now have a workplace where everyone is paid the same amount for doing the same work, as it should be.

We also gave workers the right to clock off—the right to disconnect—meaning that work doesn't follow you 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Again, our government, is very proud of having introduced that and very proud of recognising that while there is a time for work and there are reasonable expectations that the employer can have about contacting their employees, that doesn't mean that every hour of the day you need to be bombarded by phone calls, text messages and everything else.

So, for millions of Australians, at about five o'clock tomorrow they will be able to clock off, disconnect from their workplace and enjoy their weekends, but, if they are working over the weekend, then they will have access to the compensation that is appropriate—that is, penalty rates for weekend and overtime work.

That's what this bill does. It delivers on our government's key election commitment to protect penalty rates. The bill ensures that if you rely on the modern award safety net, if you work weekends, public holidays, early mornings or late nights, then you will have your wages protected. You deserve laws that ensure your pay will not go backwards. Penalty rates matter, and overtime rates matter. They are an essential part of the modern award safety net, which supports some of the lowest-paid workers in our country and some of the hardest workers in our country.

Relative to all employees, we know something about those who rely on the award. What we know about those who rely on the award is that they are more likely to be women. They are more likely to work part time. They're more likely to be under the age of 35, and they're more likely to be employed on a casual basis. For many modern award reliant employees, penalty and overtime rates are not optional extras. They are a critical part of their take-home pay. They do rely on this money. If I think about my electorate of Perth, where you've got huge employment in retail and hospitality, servicing some of the busiest workers in our country in some of the most culturally important parts of our city, I think of those workers, and I think I wouldn't be able to look them in the eye if we were to be, in this place, allowing their take-home pay to be drastically cut, especially when they're working in the CBD or Northbridge, late nights, on a Saturday night or on a Sunday, servicing people while others are enjoying their leisure time. That's why it's important that this bill does pass.

I'll go to the specifics of how this bill will operate. What the bill does is add new section 135A to the act to establish a very clear principle that, when exercising its powers to make, vary or revoke modern awards, the Fair Work Commission must ensure that the specified penalty or overtime rates are not reduced and that modern awards do not include terms that substitute employees' entitlements to receive penalty or overtime rates where those terms would have the effect of reducing the additional remuneration that any employee would otherwise receive. In simple terms, for those of us who don't follow industrial relations legislation as closely, it's about fairness. It's about fairness for people who work those unsocial hours. It's about fairness for people who have relied on these penalty rates for years and years and are now seeing some seek to remove that certainty that they've otherwise had. It's also about having incentive for people to do those unsocial hours. It's about making sure that we can have the labour that we need for the services Australian people rely upon in our economy.

Fairness is a fundamental Australian value. We do believe that people should be paid appropriately for the work they do, and we do believe in compensating people for those unsocial hours. Sadly, we have seen a sustained effort from certain employers to roll penalty and overtime rates into a single rate of pay, leaving some employees worse off. We know that the Fair Work Commission is currently considering proposals from employers in the retail, clerical and banking sectors to cut penalty rates of lower-paid workers who rely on modern awards. This bill ensures that, where we have applications like these, no worker sees their pay packet reduced. It protects the integrity of the modern award system and ensures that workers are properly compensated for their work. It also seeks to protect Australia's low-paid workers from future wage cuts. It's about respecting the millions of Australians who work those public holidays, weekends, late nights and early mornings to keep Australia going. It's about making sure the safety net does what it needs to do—protect those most in need.

In my final comments, I want to put this in the context of what we've been able to achieve over the last three years. We are a government that has proudly backed pay rises for those on the minimum wage. We've proudly backed those pay rises. We saw on 1 July of this year a 3.5 per cent pay rise, welcome news for some three million Australians who rely on that national minimum wage decision. But I want to put that in context of what it means over the last three years. Since Labor came to government, we've seen the national minimum wage increase by $4.62 per hour. That's $4.62 more going into the pockets of people every hour they work. Over a year, that's $9,122.

That's the cumulative impact of what we've been able to achieve over our first three years in office, and that's a 22.7 per cent increase in wages for those on minimum wages.

It makes a real difference. It's real cost-of-living assistance. This is a government that is proud to back working Australians, proud to back pay rises for working Australians and proud to be standing here in this place today to legislate protection for their penalty rates.

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

I rise to speak on this important legislation, the Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Penalty and Overtime Rates) Bill 2025, which gives action to a critical election commitment of our government. I wanted to start with a local person in my community who will be directly affected by this. Her name is Elissa. She's 43 years old. She has a daughter, and she's worked at a major supermarket in my community for 18 years. During that time, she's missed out on being there for her daughter at nights, after school and on the weekend. She needed to work those hours for the extra pay the penalty rates provided.

She was not there to help her daughter with homework; she was not there to read to her or to tuck her into bed at night. Her daughter missed out on playing sports and other activities of an afternoon or weekend because her mum simply had to work. It also affected her daughter's wellbeing as her mum was not around for her, because her mum had to work those long hours on the evenings and on the weekend. She said that she often went to work when she was sick because, if she stayed home sick, she would lose her penalty rates.

Another worker in my electorate, who is another woman and also a young person, is Emily. She's 27 years old, and she works at a major retail outlet. She said she's currently expecting her first little girl in the midst of moving houses, and on her normal rates it's a struggle to be able to afford the basic necessities. But, with penalty rates, they let her breathe. It gives her room to be able to save a little for her bubba and to help her move to make sure that, as she says, her new little family have a roof over their heads. It also helps in times when the bills pile up and when costs of rent and rego are due, and she said penalty rates help her and other people like her not just financially but with their mental health and wellbeing too. She said people make the sacrifice to work the extra day or extra hours to be able to breathe and relax and to be able to share a dinner with friends and not have to worry about the bills.

That's why this legislation is important, that's why we committed to it in the election campaign and that's why we're making sure that it goes through the House now so that workers, as soon as five o'clock tomorrow night, might know that these penalty rates and overtime rates are protected. In simple terms, the bill adds a new section, 135A, to the act to establish a clear principle that, when exercising its powers to make, vary or revoke modern awards, the Fair Work Commission must ensure the specified penalty of overtime rates are not reduced and that modern awards do not include terms that substitute employees' entitlements to receive penalty or overtime rates where those terms would have the effect of reducing the additional remuneration any employee would otherwise receive.

The timing is really critical. It's important because this bill will commence the day after it receives royal assent, reflecting our government's election commitment to move quickly to protect penalty and overtime rates for Australia's lowest paid workers, including Emily who's expecting her new baby in my community. It'll make a real difference, a tangible difference. As I've just said, it'll give people the time to breathe, to be able to enjoy their families, to feel supported, to have stability and to know that they're safe. It will make sure award-reliant workers continue to be fairly compensated for working overtime, for working unsocial hours and for working irregular or unpredictable hours, weekends, public holidays or shifts, as so many people do in regional economies around the country that are underpinned by retail, tourism and hospitality, like my region on the Central Coast of New South Wales.

The bill preserves the commission's existing powers under section 144 to insert flexibility terms into awards and allow employers and employees to enter into individual flexibility arrangements, including to vary penalty and overtime rates, as long as the existing legislated safeguard of making sure they are, importantly, better off compared to the standard terms is met. It's worth noting the safeguards in the enterprise bargaining framework remain unchanged. Parties will still be able to bargain at the enterprise level to reduce existing penalty rates and overtime rates so long as the commission is satisfied the enterprise agreement meets the better off overall test.

This bill strengthens the existing protections by preventing the commission from making or varying award terms where they reduce an overtime rate or penalty rate or substitute an overtime rate or penalty rate where it has the effect of reducing the take-home pay attributable to the overtime rates or penalty rates any employee would otherwise receive. This is so important. It matters to so many people and families in regional communities like mine who, as I just mentioned, are relying on this to be able to meet their bills, to have some time with family and to be able to prepare for their growing family.

Importantly, this bill will provide stronger protection than the status quo because the principle is applied over and above the commission's consideration of the modern award objectives, preventing award variations that have the effect of reducing penalty rates and overtime rates. The test applies to the additional remuneration that any employee would otherwise receive, meaning the provision cannot be in a modern award if there is evidence a single employee would be worse off. As the Prime Minister has said so often, no-one will be worse off and no-one will be left behind.

People might ask: why is this change needed? It's very evident why this change is needed. It's clear in the household budgets of people and families right across the country. We have seen a sustained effort from certain employers to roll up penalty rates and overtime rates into a single rate of pay, leaving some employees worse off. The Fair Work Commission is right now considering proposals from employers in the retail, clerical and banking sectors to cut the penalty rates of lower-paid workers who rely on modern awards. This bill—and this is why it's been introduced to the House today and why we are moving on it swiftly—will make sure that, in applications like these before the commission at the moment, no worker will see their pay packet reduced. The bill also seeks to protect Australia's low-paid workers from future wage cuts, something that we are all committed to.

As I said, there is an urgency. This is something that is a top priority for our government. It's something that we committed to in the election campaign. It's something that we're doing right now in this first sitting fortnight because some employers in the retail, clerical and banking sectors have made applications to the commission to trade away the penalty rates of lower-paid workers and leave some workers worse off. That's why we want to see this legislation passed as soon as possible—so that the commission is able to apply this principle in considering those proposals.

Of course, we've already seen the shadow minister come out criticising these laws. We all know the coalition doesn't believe in protecting workers' wages or upholding the award safety net and doesn't really recognise the other benefits of this to people's wellbeing with that certainty, stability and financial security it gives to people and families.

I need to be really clear. This legislation is aimed at protecting existing penalty rates and overtime rates. Enterprise bargaining remains a key pathway for employers to achieve flexibility and productivity gains rather than relying on the erosion of the minimum safety net for wages and conditions. The bill introduces a high-level principle, not a prescriptive rule, making it simple, fair and workable. Penalty rates and overtime rates are fundamental entitlements in modern awards that must be preserved. I note in the chamber is my colleague and assistant minister the member for Cooper, who has dedicated so much of her working life to these principles, advocating for them and upholding them.

I'm so proud to stand alongside colleagues like the member for Cooper whilst we debate this legislation.

As Minister Rishworth has made clear, this bill does not impose any additional costs or red tape and does not force employers to bargain. As I said, enterprise bargaining remains a key pathway for employers to directly negotiate with employees—and their unions, importantly. I want to recognise the HSU, the union that I belong to, that stands up for and advocates for some of the lowest paid workers that do such vital work in our communities and also the SDA and their members for the work that they do in retail and hospitality in communities like mine.

In concluding, we were clear back in 2023—when we requested the commission commence a modern award review—as we are now, that those efforts to make the awards easier to use should not be at the expense of workers' entitlements. This legislation importantly builds on our strong track record of achievement in our first term, including advocating to the Fair Work Commission for minimum and award wage rises every single year since we were first elected in 2022; embedding gender equality and job security as new Fair Work Act objects; banning pay-secrecy clauses; criminalising intentional wage theft; stopping the underpayment of workers through the use of labour-hire loopholes; introducing world-leading minimum standards for road-transport workers; and ending the forced permanent-casual loophole, providing a proper pathway to conversion for casuals who want it. I know many people that I worked with as a pharmacist who do such important work in communities and who have been able to benefit from many of these changes. We've given workers a right to clock off, the right to disconnect. It's so important for people's mental health and wellbeing in our digitally connected lives.

I commend the bill to the House and look forward the tangible difference it will make—the real meaningful difference it will make—to people and families in my community on the Central Coast of New South Wales and right around the country. I also look forward to welcoming Minister Rishworth to my electorate next week to meet with local workers who will directly benefit from this reform. Thank you.

Ged Kearney (Cooper, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to commend not just a piece of legislation but a promise—a promise that has been made to the Australian people, to our workers. It's a promise to introduce the Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Penalty and Overtime Rates) Bill 2025, a fight that many of us have been waging for years, including yourself, Madam Deputy Speaker Chesters.

I stood with this struggle wearing many hats—as assistant minister in the Albanese Labor government, as the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, as the secretary of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation and, most importantly, as a shift worker myself. As a nurse, as a retail worker and as a hospitality worker over my life, I know what it means to miss birthdays, barbecues, bedtime stories, bath time and precious moments with your kids and your family because your shift ends when everyone else's day begins. I know what it's like to work during those silent hours of night, where your only friends are the owls, the bats, or anyone coming home from Revolver! In the aftermath of all those odd hours resides a consistent state of jetlag too.

When I was a young mum with baby twins, my husband and I bought our first house. It was in 1987. He was an apprentice chef, earning, at the time, about $180 a week, which wasn't a great deal of money, even back then. So, with two young babies and with interest rates soaring around 18 per cent—if anyone can remember when that happened—we were in real dire financial straits. I decided to work permanent night shift, because I knew that the penalty rates would get us over the line. I worked seven nights on and seven nights off. For anyone who has had to do this type of night-time rotation, they will know it is gruelling. You come home in the morning. I would get the kids ready for daycare. I'd give them their breakfast and get them dressed. My husband would well and truly have been gone by the time that happened. I'd get them to child care. I'd fall into bed and always manage about four hours—if I was lucky, five hours—of sleep before I had to get up and pick them up again. This was really hard. It does terrible things to your circadian rhythms, not to mention your mental health.

But I did that for about four or five years. It got us through some really terrible times.

I can certainly tell you that no-one is sacrificing that much of their life for a luxury bag or watch. You see, despite what any unscrupulous employer may tell you, penalty rates are no luxury. For millions of Australians penalty rates are compensation for missing out on those cherished moments and milestones of life, and for many Australians penalty rates are a survival fund, determining whether someone has enough to eat, enough to be housed and enough to pay their bills. That is because often our penalty rate workers are some of the lowest paid in this country. They're our cleaners, our retail and hospitality workers and our care economy workers. They're in our hospitals, our aged-care centres, fast food restaurants, supermarkets, pubs, schools and emergency services. Often their employment is casual, insecure and unreliable. And we know all too well who is more likely to be in casual and insecure work: it's women, and those with caring responsibilities, and our young people.

I don't believe that anyone who is trying to balance caring for their babies or an ageing parent with work should lose fair compensation. And I don't believe that our young people, balancing TAFE or university with work, should lose fair compensation. When I was ACTU president I was asked by a journalist in a public forum how I could possibly justify nearly $100 an hour for a shift worker. I looked at that journalist, who was a very senior journalist, and I thought to myself: I wonder how much you actually earn a year. The worker who was getting nearly $100 an hour on possibly one single day of the year—I can't even remember; it might have been for working New Year's Day—would earn, over the year at that time, around $30,000 a year. These are not highly paid people. I said to the journalist, 'I bet you get paid nearly triple that much, and nobody asks you how we justify your salary.'

The Albanese Labor government believes in fairness and opportunity, and that's exactly what this bill is about. However, fighting to protect penalty rates is not a mere value statement of the Labor government; it's a very real and constant threat. Back in 2015, when I was president of the ACTU, and over that whole period that I was in the trade union movement we saw employer after employer front the Fair Work Commission begging for cuts. They argued that they needed flexibility and efficiency, but really that was another word for cheaper labour. I used to joke with my members that flexibility was really the f-word.

I remember that the restaurant and catering association argued to abolish loadings, and their CEO famously said, 'Well, unions can't mount this argument around going to church'—implying that nobody actually went to church anymore, and that weekends were meaningless—as though time with your kids, your friends and the rest of your community is irrelevant. In fact, a longstanding trope was that weekends no longer exist, that everybody works 24/7 now, that weekends are not a thing anymore and workers don't need to be compensated for it. But, as I said then, and I will say it now: the day they play the Rugby League grand final on a Tuesday morning is the day you can tell me there's no such thing as a weekend. The world still runs on a weekly rhythm, and an absolute majority of workers still work Monday to Friday. Yet the cuts keep coming.

I read in the Australian a few months ago that the Australian Industry Group is pushing to cut the Clerks—Private Sector Award and, if they get their way, workers in admin, banking and finance, many of them young women, could lose up to $16,000 a year. That's a lot of money when you're on a low wage to start with—no penalty rates, no overtime and no breaks, just more profits for the top and less dignity for the people who make those profits possible.

So gutting penalty rates is not a hypothetical. It is happening, and the bill is a line in the sand. More specifically, this bill enshrines protections for penalty rates and overtime entitlements in the Fair Work Act, making it harder for big business and employer groups to strip them away through award reviews.

We are ensuring that penalty rates and overtime pay are considered minimum standards. If employers want to negotiate higher pay for their workers in exchange for a higher base rate, for example, they are still free to do that through the Fair Work Commission and through bargaining, alongside their workers and with the unions, and they must do that and still meet a better-off-overall test. There are no tricks and no loopholes now, and, most importantly, there will be less division of power. You don't have to be a lifelong unionist to know that divided we beg, united we bargain. Before those opposite try to call me a radical again, I want to emphasise that this bill still allows freedom of negotiation between employers and employees. It just balances the power when it happens.

The bill is sensible and fair. And where is the coalition on this bill? They voted against restoring penalty rates in the last parliament. They backed the business lobbyists without compromise or question. The truth is that the Liberal Party has never believed in fair compensation for working people. In recent years, they opposed paid family and domestic violence leave, multi-employer bargaining and the right to disconnect. They also attempted infamously during the election to remove the ability to work from home. They talk about aspiration but for whom—whose aspiration? It's certainly not working people.

This bill is part of a broader vision for our country, a vision that the Labor government is proud to fight for every single day. This builds on work we've already done, including increasing the minimum wage, stronger laws to close the gender pay gap and increased pay for care economy workers—historic investment in secure Australian jobs. Ours is a vision based on a fairer Australia for all. We understand the difference a few dollars can make each week. I certainly know the difference a few extra dollars made for me when I was a nurse raising my kids.

This bill is for our nurses pulling late shifts and night shifts and for young baristas studying during the week, relying on weekend rates just to get by. It's for aged care workers who go above and beyond to ensure the best possible care at all times. This bill is for every worker who has ever missed a Christmas, a birthday, eight hours of sleep and every precious moment with a loved one. When we protect penalty rates, we protect people and we ensure dignity. I commend this bill to the House.

Madonna Jarrett (Brisbane, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to support the Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Penalty and Overtime Rates) Bill 2025. On this side of the House, we will always stand up for working people. At the election, we committed to protecting penalty rates, and now the government is delivering on that promise. If you work weekends, public holidays, early mornings, late nights and rely on penalty rates through the modern award safety net, you deserve to have your penalty wages protected.

This amendment establishes a principle requiring the Fair Work Commission to ensure that penalty and overtime rates are not reduced. This will protect 2.6 million award-reliant workers across the country. We know that award-reliant employees are more likely to be women, work part time, be under the age of 35 and employed on a casual basis. Many workers in my electorate of Brisbane deserve and rely on penalty rates to make ends meet. This includes our proud retail, pharmacy, hospitality, hospital, aged care, casino and airline workers, amongst others.

Many airline workers at Brisbane airport, like Ben, work late nights, weekends and public holidays to connect our community with the rest of the world. Airline workers rely on penalty rates, and Labor's same job, same pay laws saw wages rise by up to $20,000 a year or by 42 per cent for some workers. That's not a small amount of money. But we know that airline companies continue to look for loopholes to undermine this important work.

In Brisbane, hundreds of frontline staff from across the casino industry recently stopped work, many of whom had worked through the toughest period in the industry's recent history, including the regulatory crisis and public scrutiny. Maria, a cleaner for Star, chose to take her first-ever union action by going on strike because reductions to penalty rates would see her $20 worse-off per week.

She said that might not sound like much to many people, but for a cleaner who has to watch every dollar it's a huge impact. I stand with Maria and the United Workers Union members who are still fighting to protect their penalty rates and to be respected at that casino.

As we know, hospitals and aged-care services, like the RBWH in my electorate, take care of our community and they often require staff to work late nights, weekends and public holidays. A paramedic working a typical roster would be roughly $742 worse off over the Easter break without penalty rates. An aged-care worker at a residential facility in Albion working a typical roster would be roughly $620 worse off over the Easter break without penalty rates. This is real money for real people. It's also our bus drivers and train drivers, who transport us across the electorate, who rely on penalty rates. It's workers across the Brisbane community who deserve penalty rates for the essential services they provide to us to make our city operate. Penalty rates are an acknowledgment of the important work of these hard workers in my electorate. They work late nights and on weekends; they have to spend time away from their families and loved ones. I'm proud to be part of a Labor government that continues to support and deliver increased wages and protect penalty rates.

History shows that when the union movement is strong, the working class can prosper. And we have a proud history in Australia of having a strong union movement that has always stood on the right side of history. Unions fought hard for superannuation reforms. They fought for Medicare. They campaigned hard for women to get the right to vote. They made sure that the decriminalisation of abortion was implemented across states and territories. They have long fought for justice for First Nations people and reconciliation. They continue to fight for gender pay equity, and the list goes on.

In the 1940s, it was the union movement that fought and campaigned hard for the introduction of penalty rates. The concept was simple: an understanding and recognition of working particular hours or days during the evenings, weekends, public holidays or in conditions that might be dangerous or unpleasant. Penalty rates arose as part of a broader desire to recognise working people's needs to physically recuperate, spend time with their family and live a life beyond work, and to properly remunerate them for the sacrifice to work inconvenient hours that may take them away from these important friends and family. Penalty rates were created to make sure workers are properly compensated for the sacrifices they make to work these inconvenient times or under certain conditions. Here we are, 80 years later, and the way we work has not changed, and neither should this principle.

But since the 1940s, we've seen successive governments and industry try to take away penalty rates for hardworking Australians. During the recent election campaign, the coalition refused to rule out penalty rate cuts for Australia's lowest-paid workers. And we know the coalition continues to do this; we heard it again earlier today. Peter Dutton voted eight times in parliament in favour of cutting penalty rates. They want cuts to penalty rates for workers, but are happy to support free lunches for bosses. It's a stark difference between a government who wants the economy to work for people and an opposition who continually undermines working people.

We know bosses like to say getting rid of penalty rates will improve productivity, but as the member for Dickson pointed out earlier today a recent study showed no new jobs were created as a result of lower penalty rates. Lowering pay for workers is just a cost-saving exercise to boost business and company profits at the expense of working people. Right now there are submissions before the Fair Work Commission from industry and business associations who want to strip away penalty rates.

The coalition also oversaw stagnation for nearly a decade, which led to inflation rising and left the country with falling real wages. When the Albanese government first came to office, real wages were falling 3.4 per cent and had gone backwards for five consecutive years. Since taking office, the Albanese Labor government has always advocated for wage increases. Their recent submission to the Fair Work expert panel recommending it award an economically sustainable real wage increase was successful.

Penalty rates and wage increases must never go backwards. If they did, it would erode intergenerational fairness and the concept of a fair go for all. As I mentioned in my first speech, restoring intergenerational fairness is a key part of my focus as Brisbane grows over the next decade. This is an issue that is incredibly close to my heart. I saw the firsthand damage when governments, like the conservative Bjelke-Petersen government, sacked and targeted workers, their families and even my community during the SEQEB dispute. That's why I will always stand to protect penalty rates and wage increases. It makes me incredibly proud to be a part of a Labor team and a union movement that continues to lift wages and, therefore, lift all Australians. Change only happens when workers support each other, the union movement is strong, and governments take action to ensure workers are not worse off.

But we know there is more work to do. Working people continue to face cost-of-living pressures, which is why the Albanese Labor government is doing everything it can to help in this regard. Last term, we delivered a tax cut for every Australian taxpayer. We delivered $300 in energy bill relief for every Australian household and $325 for small businesses. We tripled the bulk-billing incentive for people who need to see their GP most often, including pensioners, concession card holders and families with children. We restored bulk-billing for 11 million Australians, creating an additional six million bulk-billed GP visits. We are delivering cheaper medicines by delivering the biggest-ever reduction in the cost of PBS prescriptions and freezing the cost of PBS medicines. We're making hundreds of medicines cheaper for Australians. Labor also cut student debt and made sure that it never grows faster than wages. We delivered fee-free TAFE. We delivered cheaper child care. We delivered real wage increases for Australian workers. Under this government, real wages are growing again and, with our tax cuts, Australians are keeping more of what they earn. Not only have we seen three consecutive pay rises for Australian workers who are on awards but also Labor has delivered pay rises for aged-care and early childhood educators and care workers.

But it doesn't stop there. We will continue to deliver cost-of-living relief for working Australians by delivering new tax cuts for taxpayers, delivering another $150 in energy bill relief, wiping 20 per cent of student debt and strengthening Medicare with more free GP visits and even cheaper medicine. We will make medicine even cheaper so the most you'll pay for a PBS medicine will be just $25 a script. We're making it easier for Australians to get the urgent medical care that they need. Labor will expand its growing network of Medicare urgent care clinics. We've already opened 87 of them across Australia. Labor will now open 50 more, including one in the inner north of Brisbane, in my electorate. We will also make free TAFE permanent. We will continue to deliver affordable child care closer to home. I'd like to also point out that award-reliant employees are more likely to be women. Gender pay equity is something we must continue to strive for, and this government has achieved a lot in this space. Three million Australians, most of whom are women, are already better off, with a 3½ per cent real pay rise delivered on 1 July. These are three million workers across the country—including cleaners, retail workers and early childhood educators—who are benefiting and who make up the essential fabric of our community. These are industries that are traditionally dominated by women and where historically workers have been paid very little. This pay rise is another step towards realising equal pay for women, and I really commend the government for this. We have seen annual real wages grow for 18 months in a row, now, under the Albanese Labor government.

This is a government that is taking real action and supporting working people, their families and all Australians. This is the impact of a long-term Labor government that has worked hard to create the right conditions for sustainable, real wage growth. Fair protections like penalty rates matter most to the people who can least afford to lose out, including young workers, women, casual workers and those in part-time jobs. While I'm in this House, I want to be able to say, 'I made this country better, and I made it better for working people.' Under this Labor government, real wages are up, superannuation is strengthening, inflation is down, unemployment is low and income is growing.

We will always fight to improve the wages and conditions of working people, and that's exactly what this bill does. I commend the bill.

Amanda Rishworth (Kingston, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to thank all members for their contributions to the debate on the Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Penalty and Overtime Rates) Bill 2025. This bill is a clear, simple and practical amendment to protect penalty and overtime rates as fundamental entitlements relied on by millions of award-reliant Australian workers. The Albanese government is committed to delivering workplace relations reforms with a clear goal in sight: to get wages moving for Australian workers. I've heard strong support for this bill and the fundamental importance of penalty and overtime rates for employees, particularly from some of the lowest-paid workers in our country, those who keep Australia running on weekends, public holidays, early mornings and late nights. We promised this bill as one of the first legislative acts of this government, because we will always act to make sure that workers cannot go backwards. Currently, penalty and overtime rates in modern awards can be rolled up into a single rate of pay, leaving some employees worse off. This shouldn't be possible. Award-reliant employees who rely on their penalty and overtime rates deserve guaranteed protection to those entitlements in the minimum safety net.

This bill introduces a clear and simple new principle into the Fair Work Act to protect penalty and overtime rates in modern awards. Specifically, it sets out the important principle that penalty and overtime rates cannot be reduced or substituted in ways that do not fairly compensate employees for the penalty and overtime rates they would otherwise receive. It does this by inserting a clear principle requiring that, in exercising its powers to make, vary or revoke modern awards, the commission must ensure that the rate of a penalty rate or overtime rate that employees are entitled to receive is not reduced and that modern awards do not include terms that substitute employees' entitlements to receive penalty or overtime rates that do not fairly compensate employees for the penalty and overtime rates they would otherwise receive. This bill does not affect individual flexibility arrangements, the bargaining framework or the Fair Work Commission's ability to correct errors or clarify award terms. The bill introduces a simple amendment to ensure that penalty and overtime rates in the modern award safety net are protected.

The feedback to this reform has been resoundingly positive. We've heard real-life evidence and examples of what protecting penalty and overtime rates means for the lives and livelihoods of award covered workers. For example, we heard last night from the member for Hasluck about two constituents in her electorate who have relied on penalty rates. The first, John, said his penalty rates provided the security that got him through university and that they have provided him with the means to start full-time work with some savings in his pocket. The member also talked about a constituent named Lucinda, who said, 'As a full-time student, penalty rates are not a luxury but what allowed me to attend class.'

We've heard questions in this debate about how small businesses will be impacted by this bill. To be very clear, this bill does not alter existing employer obligations, including those of small business. Despite the scare campaign being run by the shadow minister, this bill does not introduce new costs or impose additional requirements on small business or any business. I have engaged in detailed consultation on the amendment with both unions and employer groups, including small business representatives, through the National Workplace Relations Consultative Council and the Committee on Industrial Legislation. Employers already have an ongoing responsibility to correctly apply the relevant modern award, including the payment of penalty and overtime rates where required. This bill does not change that. It does not apply retrospectively, nor does it impose new obligations on employers or disrupt day-to-day operations.

To address questions about the bill's impact on productivity, it has never been and never will be the solution to make workers do more for less. This government is committed to providing productivity and enhancing economic resilience, but we do not accept that sending hardworking award-covered workers backwards through the reduction of their penalty and overtime rates is the way to do this.

The path to achieving flexibility and productivity gains can be found in good faith enterprise bargaining, rather than by undermining award entitlements. Our bargaining reforms increased access for workers and employers, including small businesses, to negotiate agreements with their employees and unions. Enterprise bargaining can facilitate innovation and a greater acceptance of new technology, and can foster skills growth for employees, all of which enhance productivity.

Whenever we stand up for workers' pay, the Liberals oppose it. Our position here is simple, and it will never change. We want people to earn more and keep more of what they earn. We, of course, respect the commission's role as an independent industrial tribunal. The commission will continue to interpret and apply the Fair Work Act, including the new principle introduced by this bill. This process will be guided by its usual consultative approach, ensuring all interested parties have the opportunity to present their views. This bill also preserves the commission's existing powers to remove ambiguity and uncertainty or to correct an error in the modern award.

It has been suggested that this bill could require the commission to review all modern awards for compliance with the new principle or to review penalty and overtime rates, even if that is beyond the scope of a specific application. This has never been the intent of our bill, and we are confident that the bill, as introduced, would not have operated in this way. However, this government is committed to genuine consultation, including with employer representatives and unions. We are amending the bill for the avoidance of doubt and to further provide certainty to stakeholders. This bill is unequivocally clear. It will not require the commission to undertake a review of all modern awards, initiate a review of any award terms outside of the scope of application before the commission or exercise its power under part 2-3 of the Fair Work Act to make, vary or revoke modern awards.

For many award-reliant employees, penalty and overtime rates are a critical part of their take-home pay. Earlier this week, we did hear a very long and wide-ranging speech from the shadow minister. He got a lot of his thoughts and feelings out about a lot of things, including our consultation process, but, more concerningly, he is running a deep, disingenuous scare campaign about the impact of this bill on small business. To be very, very clear, our legislation is about protecting what is currently in place. That means, if you're a small business and you're paying your workers by the modern award safety net, the impact is this: do exactly what you're doing right now.

After all the bluster and grandstanding, the shadow minister still hasn't revealed his position on the question that really matters: are he and his party going to back this legislation to protect penalty and overtime rates or not? The shadow minister says he supports penalty rates, but he is also talking this bill down. The question for the shadow minister and for those opposite is: is he going to back in his bluster, or is he going to protect penalty rates? It's a very simple proposition.

As we have heard today, it is low-paid workers, women, and young people who are more likely to be reliant on awards, as well as those working in retail and hospitality, who often work unsociable and irregular hours. This simple and very straightforward bill is about fairness. It is about respecting the millions of Australians who work public holidays, weekends, late nights and early mornings, and it's about making sure the safety net does what it's meant to do—protect those who need it most. I commend the bill to the House.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question before the House is that the amendment moved by the honourable member for Cook be agreed to.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question now is that the amendment moved by the honourable member for Wentworth be agreed to.

Question negatived.

Original question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.