Dorinda Cox (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I also rise to speak in support of the Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Penalty and Overtime Rates) Bill 2025. This bill is something very simple yet absolutely fundamental. It's about fairness in the workplace and ensuring that Australians who work the hours that most of us would rather not—the late nights, weekends and public holidays—are properly recognised and compensated for the sacrifices that they make.

Penalty and overtime rates have long been a feature of our workplace relations system, and they're not a bonus or handout. They are an acknowledgement that working outside of regular hours absolutely comes at a cost. It comes at a cost of time with your family and your friends, and it comes at a cost of rest and recovery. It comes at a cost, sometimes, of your wellbeing. When a nurse is on a shift at 2 am, when a retail worker is stacking shelves late on a Sunday night and when a transport worker is driving through the night to keep goods moving across our country, those workers deserve more than just the base rate of pay. They deserve recognition for the extra burden those hours place on their lives.

In my home state of Western Australia, shiftwork is prevalent across various industries, most notably manufacturing, mining, construction, health care, accommodation, food services and also public administration. Other sectors also include significant shiftwork, including retail, transport, social and community services and security. This equates to approximately 277,000 WA workers that rely on penalty rates. This bill protects those entitlements and ensures that the penalty and overtime rates in modern awards cannot be cut back, watered down or quietly rolled into arrangements that leave workers worse off. In short it guarantees that the safety net remains in fact a safety net.

Some in this chamber will argue that employers need flexibility and that rolling penalty rates into broader pay arrangements is a matter of convenience and efficiency, but let's be clear: this bill does not outlaw flexibility. It does not prevent employers and employees from reaching agreements that suit their needs. What it does is place guardrails around those arrangements. It makes sure that flexibility does not become exploitation and that a so-called 'rolled up' rate is not just a way of short-changing workers.

At a time when Australians are under enormous cost-of-living pressure, these protections are not just symbolic; they are essential. Every dollar matters to Australian families right now. The workers that rely most on penalty and overtime rates are often in low-paid jobs, insecure jobs and award-reliant jobs. They are retail workers, hospitality staff, aged-care workers, cleaners, transport operators and countless others. For them, losing penalty rates is not just a minor adjustment. It can mean not being able to cover their rent. It means cutting back on their groceries. It can mean making impossible choices between essentials.

This parliament has a responsibility to stand up for those workers, and this bill does just that. It locks in protections for around 2.6 million Australians whose pay and conditions are set by modern awards. It sends a clear message: we value your work and we will not allow it to be undermined. This government was elected with a commitment to restore fairness to the workplace relations system, to lift real wages and improve conditions and to strengthen the safety net, and this bill is a practical expression of that commitment. It is about saying, 'Never again will penalty rates and overtime be eroded through the back door of so-called flexibility.'

It is not only about fairness for individual workers; it is also about strengthening our economy. When workers are paid fairly, they spend fairly. That supports spending in small businesses in our communities. It supports local economies in suburbs and towns right across Australia. Protecting penalty rates is not just good for workers; it's good for our economic resilience.

It is good for families. I know from my own experience, from listening to constituents in WA, that work often comes at the cost of family time. Parents miss out on those milestones because they're on shift. Children spend weekends without mum or dad at home. The least we can do is make sure that those hours are properly compensated, and this bill respects that reality.

There will be many who say this bill goes too far, that it ties the hands of business, but I would say this: the evidence is clear that businesses can and do thrive while paying fair penalty and overtime rates. Thousands of employers across the country already operate under some of these conditions. Many do so proudly, recognising that treating our workforce with respect is not just a legal obligation but also a smart way to build loyalty, reduce turnover and improve productivity. Fair pay and good business are not mutually exclusive; they in fact go hand in hand.

I want to thank the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Minister Rishworth, for bringing this bill forward, and I want to acknowledge the tireless work of unions and workers' advocates, who have long fought to ensure that penalty rates are not eroded. Their advocacy has been instrumental in getting us to this point. I also want to acknowledge the voices of workers themselves—some of the people who rely on penalty rates to pay their bills. The government has heard from people who spoke about the toll of unsocial hours and the difference that proper compensation makes.

Debate interrupted.