What may be in store for industrial relations if the Coalition forms government?

If elected to office, the Federal Coalition has vowed to repeal some of the changes introduced by the Federal Labor Government through the Secure Jobs, Better Pay and Closing Loopholes legislation.

A Coalition Government would seek to do these four key things:

Restore the definition of casual employment in the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FW Act) to that which applied prior to 26 August 2024. This change would adopt a definition of casual employment that focused on the terms agreed at the outset of engagement, rather than the practical reality and true nature of the employment relationship. (Click here for information about the current definition of casual employment.)
Repeal the laws enshrining the employee right to disconnect. These laws came into effect in August 2024 and protect employees who choose to ignore unreasonable attempts by their bosses to contact them after hours. (Click here for information about the right to disconnect.)
Reestablish the Australian Building and Construction Commission, which was abolished in 2023.
De-register the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union. Additionally, anti-racketeering laws could be put in place that allow bosses of organisations that engage in a pattern of illegal activity to be criminally charged, targeting “union corruption”.

The Coalition had also pledged to:

Review the scheme that allows regulated labour hire arrangement orders to be made by the Fair Work Commission (FWC). These would require labour hire employees to be paid at least what they would receive under a host’s enterprise agreement or equivalent public sector determination. The FWC can only make an order if satisfied the host’s enterprise agreement would apply to the labour hire worker if they were directly employed. Since that announcement, the Coalition has committed to maintaining the laws.
Mandate the return to office for public servants by reducing their ability to work flexibly, from home. The party also promised to cut 41,000 jobs in the Commonwealth public sector. The Coalition has since stated that flexible working arrangements would stay and would be enshrined in future workplace agreements, and will rely on a hiring freeze and natural attrition to reduce the number of public servants.

As we can see, the results of the coming election will have great significance in employment law.