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employment & labour
ANNOUNCEMENT - The Brief has officially launched in Australia and is now accepting submissions and press releases from legal professionals and PR
Handy hints for employees responding to disciplinary allegations
So you have been provided with disciplinary allegations and you need to give a response. A response can be given verbally in a meeting, in writing or by a combination. It is only in the simplest and least serious of situations that a purely verbal response should be provided. See our factsheets on disciplinary action and interview tips. You may walk out of a disciplinary meeting having given a verbal response and then remember something else to say. Even a verbal respon
By Rob Stevenson
Clerks Award WFH decision - if it ain’t broke
On 27 August 2026, the Full Bench published its decision in the Working from home – Clerks – Private Sector Award 2020 major case, including a draft work-from-home clause (WFH Clause). Following extensive research undertaken by the Commission and hearing submissions from unions and employer groups, the Full Bench has decided to adopt a ‘facilitative clause’. Employers shouldn’t be too concerned – the WFH Clause doesn’t substantially change the status quo on WFH arrangements.
By Shawn Skyring & Alyssa Conejar
Fair Work Commission lifts minimum and award wages
What the 2026 decision means for employers On 2 June 2026, the Fair Work Commission’s (FWC) Expert Panel handed down its decision in the 2026 Annual Wage Review. From the first full pay period starting on or after 1 July 2026, minimum wages under modern awards will rise by 4.75%, and the National Minimum Wage will increase to $26.44 per hour, or $1,004.90 per week, up from $24.95 per hour ($948.00 per week). That equates to a rise of roughly 5.97% in the National Minimum Wage
By Jorge Paraskevopoulos
Secure australian jobs code- can harmony be found?
Businesses that perform work which is directly or indirectly funded by the Commonwealth Government, or that are recipients of Commonwealth grant funding, may wish to keep an eye on the development of the Government’s Secure Australian Jobs Code (Code). The Code was an election commitment made as part of the 'Secure Australian Jobs Plan' by the Australian Labor Party in 2021. It was intended to establish guidelines for recipients of Government spending covering worker treatm
By Kat Eather
Federal Court makes costs orders in Fair Work case
The Federal Court has ordered costs in a case arising under the Fair Work Act in Turner v Chandler Macleod Group Limited (Costs) [2026] FCA 458. Been doing so, the Court dealt in detail with the principles applied to section 570 of that Act. As the Court noted at [4] That section is subject to the exceptions set out in s 570 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) which (relevantly) provides that costs may be ordered only if the Court is satisfied that the proceedings were instituted
By Ian Latham
Using AI in PIC proceedings? Disclosure and verification are essential
As the use of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become more widespread, the legal industry is grappling with what place it has in court proceedings. The Personal Injury Commission Rules 2021 (PIC Rules) and Procedural Direction PIC13 – Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence, deals with the use of generative AI in the Personal Injury Commission. The Rules and Procedural Direction provide, among other things that, if AI has been used in the preparation of written s
By Kate Ralph & Jessica Maiuolo
No AI Act, no cry? Your compliance obligations when using AI
The Jobs and Skills Australia report, Our Gen AI Transition: Implications for Work and Skills, is a serious piece of work, and its findings on covert use deserve employers’ attention. Drawing on a range of studies, it found that roughly a quarter of workers are using Gen AI tools without their employer knowing or approving. The detail is worth dwelling on. The report does not paint shadow users as a workforce of rule-breakers. Some of them are, in its words, “hidden leaders”
By Guzyal Hill
Which construction occupations can be sponsored in Australia?
Construction businesses experiencing ongoing labour shortages often ask us the same question: “Can we sponsor this role?” Answering that question properly requires looking beyond the job title. One of the most important and often overlooked parts of the sponsorship process is identifying the occupation that genuinely reflects the work the employee will perform. Understanding that distinction early can save businesses significant time, avoid costly recruitment missteps and, in
TikTok after hours: The right to disconnect put to the test
The South Australian Employment Tribunal has rejected claims that after-hours TikTok and Snapchat messages sent to employees breached their right to disconnect. The ruling provides useful guidance on when out-of-hours communications may cross the line. In issue The South Australian Employment Tribunal (Tribunal) was required to consider whether the employer’s conduct prevented the employees from exercising their right to disconnect. Its decisions in Elliot v Mcguire [2026] SA
By Reza Azimi
the show must go on during port negotiations
In late 2023, a protracted industrial relations dispute between DP World Australia and the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) crystallised around the negotiation of a replacement enterprise agreement covering stevedoring staff at Australia’s four principal container terminals - Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Fremantle. The legal foundation of the dispute was the enterprise bargaining framework in the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), which enables employees to take protected industri
By THE BRIEF EDITORIAL
hC delivers clarity for independent contractors
Deliveroo Australia Pty Ltd v Diego Franco is a defining case at the intersection of Australia’s expanding gig economy and the legal boundaries of traditional employment protections. At its core was a straightforward yet legally profound question: under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), was a delivery rider engaged via a digital platform an employee with access to statutory unfair dismissal remedies, or an independent contractor operating a commercial service provider? The answer
By THE BRIEF EDITORIAL
Redundancy, it is or it isn't — Helensburgh Coal v Bartley
At its core, Helensburgh Coal Pty Ltd v Bartley & Ors is not a dispute about whether an employer may restructure its workforce. That power is well established under Australian employment law. Instead, the case turns on a narrower but more consequential legal question: when employees are dismissed as redundant, how far must an employer go to consider alternative workforce arrangements before the dismissal can lawfully be described as a “genuine redundancy”? The High Court’s an
By THE BRIEF EDITORIAL
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