Jess Walsh (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Early Childhood Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

I seek leave to have the second reading speech incorporated in Hansard.

Leave granted.

The speech read as follows—

FAIR WORK AMENDMENT (FAIRER FUEL) BILL 2026

Introduction

I move that this bill be now read a second time.

Our road transport industry is vital to keeping our nation's economy moving.

Without trucks and their drivers, the movement of essential supplies across Australia stops.

The ongoing conflict in the Middle East has led to sharp spikes in the price of fuel.

Anyone who has filled up their car recently knows how much of a financial strain this is causing.

These surging costs are being felt by many Australians. But they are particularly being felt by the truckies who deliver the goods that Australian households and businesses depend on.

Drivers are the backbone of our economy.

Drivers like Justin, who I met earlier this week halfway through his overnight shift, ensuring that food and goods are delivered where they need to go.

Government action to support the road transport industry

The Albanese Government has already taken a stand to give hard working truckies like Justin a fair go. And that's why in our first term, our government delivered landmark workplace relations reforms with a clear goal of fair minimum standards for employee-like workers and the road transport industry.

These were significant changes, which responded to unsustainable practices in the road transport industry putting businesses, workers and their families under immense financial pressure. We fought hard to deliver them.

And the Fair Work Commission and the parties are doing their part, carefully working through a number of applications under the new regulated worker provisions.

We're also looking after our trucking industry by cracking down on sham contracting, with stronger protections against sham contracting and compliance action from the Fair Work Ombudsman and the Australian Taxation Office. There are also increased penalties for employers who dodge their obligations to their employees.

The Albanese Government is building on these changes to ensure greater fairness, sustainability and resilience through road transport contract chains amid global fuel challenges.

The Fairer Fuel Bill

This bill is about making sure hard-working truckies and smaller road transport businesses are not pushed to the brink by severe cost shocks.

Under the current legislation, the Fair Work Commission must consult when setting contractual chain orders for a minimum of six months.

As our country experiences the impact of the war in the Middle East, the Government recognises the need to establish an urgent pathway for truckies and road transport businesses to argue for their fair share in the Fair Work Commission.

This bill will amend the Fair Work Act to enable the Commission to respond more quickly to contractual chain order applications in time sensitive circumstances.

The amendments will allow me, as Minister, to determine that an application can be dealt with more quickly when there is a significant, national, negative impact on the road transport sector and it is in the public interest to act quickly. In doing so, I will need to consider the Road Transport Objective, which requires balancing the interests of businesses and drivers, with a focus on the sustainability of the sector.

Once a determination is made, the Commission will be able to make contractual chain orders without the usual 6-month minimum timeframe, so truckies and smaller road transport businesses aren't left to worry about managing rising costs on their own.

The requirement on the Commission to consult with parties and step through its processes will remain. It will still be up to the Commission, in consultation with affected parties, to determine the terms of the order, which must be limited to the issues that have triggered my declaration. But this reform means it will be able to act more quickly, helping to maintain business viability in the current, volatile environment.

As this bill is about establishing a new pathway to respond to issues urgently, a 6-month limit applies to orders made under the new urgent pathway. After this period, the normal mandatory timeframes will again apply to any ongoing applications made to the Commission.

These are complex issues affecting people across the globe. Solutions are not simple, which is why we've given the Commission jurisdiction to work these issues through in a way that recognises the need to act quickly to protect the livelihoods of truck drivers and keep essential supplies flowing across Australia.

The strong safeguards we legislated with the Closing Loopholes reforms will continue to apply to the Commission's decision-making. This includes ensuring that industry is adequately consulted and being satisfied that the order will not unduly impact business viability and competitiveness. We also built in a 'failsafe' mechanism allowing parties to apply for an order to be suspended while the Commission considers whether to vary or revoke it.

Taken together, these safeguards ensure the Commission can address systemic issues that arise in complex contractual chains, while maintaining confidence that reforms will improve fairness and safety without imposing unreasonable burdens on businesses or undermining industry sustainability.

Stakeholder support for the bill

The Government's announcement has been widely supported by the road transport industry, including the Australian Road Transport Industrial Association, the Australian Road Freighters Association, the Transport Workers' Union and the Australian Trucking Association, whose CEO Matt Munroe said this week that the ATA stands with the Government in full support of its announcement.

Conclusion

Ultimately this bill is about fairness, resilience and sustainability in contract chains. It is about ensuring that road transport workers, operators and drivers like Justin are not left to shoulder global shocks on their own.

These are the people who keep food on supermarket shelves, materials moving to construction sites, and essential supplies flowing to communities across Australia.

This bill ensures that our workplace relations framework can respond when it needs to, quickly, responsibly and in the public interest.

I urge you to join the Government in supporting this bill.

Debate adjourned.