Category Archives: Industrial relations

Victorian government faces backlash from small businesses over right to work-from-home laws

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Small employers won’t be exempt from proposed legislation designed to allow offsite working two days a week

Business groups have criticised a decision to rule out exemptions for small businesses in the Victorian government’s plan to legislate the right to work from home two days a week, saying some companies could move interstate or overseas.

Cabinet met on Monday to greenlight the work from home plan – a key pillar of Labor’s re-election campaign – with further announcements expected during the parliamentary sitting week.

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State Library of Victoria faces job cuts as staff accuse management of pursuing ‘digital vanity projects’

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Under the plan, 39 jobs would be lost and the public-facing workforce of reference librarians would be cut from 25 staff to 10

State Library of Victoria staff have accused management of undermining the 171-year-old institution’s core purposes in favour of flashy tourist-oriented “digital vanity projects” in a proposed restructure.

Under the plan, 39 jobs would be lost and the public-facing workforce of reference librarians would be cut from 25 staff to 10, while many publicly accessible computers would be removed.

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UTS academics describe ‘culture of fear’ as enrolments put on hold for nearly a fifth of courses

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The freeze comes as the university pursues $100m in cost cuts and after it announced in April it could axe 400 jobs

Academics at the University of Technology Sydney have described feelings of stress and a “culture of fear” after the educational institution temporarily paused student enrolments for nearly a fifth of its courses, leaving staff wondering if their jobs will be among the hundreds set to be axed.

The university has stopped taking in new students for 120 of its 615 courses, including masters degrees in teaching primary and secondary education. More than 50 of the affected courses were international study options attached to other degrees. The pause will last until the end of the autumn 2026 semester.

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Victorians could soon have the right to work from home two days a week under Australian-first laws

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Premier Jacinta Allan to announce proposal that if legislated would make Victoria the first state to enshrine in law the right to work remotely

Victorians could soon have a legal right to work from home two days a week, under proposed Australian-first laws to be introduced to parliament by the state Labor government in 2026.

The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, will use Labor’s state conference on Saturday to announce the proposal, which, if passed by parliament, would make the state the first in the country to legislate the right to work remotely.

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Victorians could soon have the right to work from home two days a week under Australian-first laws

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Premier Jacinta Allan to announce proposal that if legislated would make Victoria the first state to enshrine in law the right to work remotely

Victorians could soon have a legal right to work from home two days a week, under proposed Australian-first laws to be introduced to parliament by the state Labor government in 2026.

The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, will use Labor’s state conference on Saturday to announce the proposal, which, if passed by parliament, would make the state the first in the country to legislate the right to work remotely.

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Union says insurers ‘bleeding the system dry’ in backlash to NSW bid to limit workers compensation claims

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One insurer spent $85,000 of public money to fight $5,000 knee surgery claim, says Unions NSW

The Minns Labor government is facing strong pushback against workers compensation changes designed to curb claims for psychological injury, with educators and the peak union group criticising the bill’s failure to address underlying issues.

The government wants to limit the ability of New South Wales’s 4.5 million workers to claim compensation by raising the psychological injury threshold required for compensation and making it harder to receive lifetime payments.

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Labor moves to bolster penalty rates and overtime pay protections for millions of workers

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Legislation will prevent award wage penalty rates from being cut in exchange for higher rates of base pay if it will leave workers worse off

Workers who rely on award wages would have their rights to penalty rates and overtime pay protected under one of the first pieces of legislation to be introduced to the new federal parliament.

The changes to the Fair Work Act would effectively ensure workers paid under awards cannot have their penalty rates reduced in return for a higher rate of base pay if it leaves workers worse off.

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Queensland LNP government launches inquiry into CFMEU state branch and its Labor ‘enablers’

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Deputy premier likens investigation to 1980s Fitzgerald inquiry, accusing Labor of orchestrating ‘protection racket’ for union

Queensland’s Liberal National party government has invoked the inquiry that brought down decades-long conservative rule in the state as it vowed to pursue a Labor opposition that it described as the “enabler” of violence within a union.

The premier, David Crisafulli, announced a “landmark inquiry” into the state branch of the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU) on Sunday, which he described as the “most powerful tool” at the government’s disposal.

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Women and babies could die due to midwife cuts at Sydney’s RPA hospital, staff warn

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Midwives’ union president warns women giving birth at one of the city’s largest hospitals will not receive a level of care considered safe

Midwives at one of Sydney’s largest hospitals have warned women and babies could die in light of cuts to the number of midwives staff deployed across the birth and delivery unit.

Hospital staff say 20 full-time equivalent roles have been removed from across the women and babies service at Royal Prince Alfred (RPA) hospital in Camperdown, including five from the midwifery group practice (MGP), effective from Tuesday.

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Psychiatrist body holds firm on 25% pay bid but NSW Health says shortages are ‘more nuanced’

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Both parties have made closing submissions in their wage dispute before the NSW industrial relations tribunal

Closing submissions have been heard in the long-running dispute between psychiatrists – who are pushing for a 25% pay increase – and the New South Wales department of health, bringing to a close a landmark legal action brought by the psychiatrists, who argue psychiatric care in NSW is facing “collapse” because of poor pay and conditions.

Over two days this week, the Industrial Relations Commission court in Sydney heard closing submissions from lawyers, before the full bench retired to consider their decision.

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Setback for Minns government as controversial workers’ compensation bill sent to inquiry

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Treasurer Daniel Mookhey, who opposed the inquiry, said NSW’s compensation scheme was running a $5m deficit every day

A controversial bill to curtail workers’ compensation claims for psychological injuries incurred by New South Wales workers will be sent to a parliamentary inquiry, after crossbenchers and the Coalition banded together to force the inquiry.

The independent Mark Latham moved for a relatively swift inquiry, with the date of reporting to be set by the chair of the inquiry, once the scope of evidence is known.

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Chris Minns warns of $2bn budget hole if bill curtailing psychological injury claims fails

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Opposition opposes premier’s bill to raise impairment threshold to 30% as Labor forced to woo crossbenchers for support

The NSW premier, Chris Minns, has warned a failure to pass his controversial workers compensation legislation would blow a $2bn hole in the state budget as Labor seeks to woo a coalition of conservative crossbenchers to pass the bill.

In parliament, the premier said if the changes to curtail psychological injury claims did not go through, an additional $2bn would be required from NSW taxpayers to fund the public service portion of the scheme.

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Queensland unions predict ‘hell of a bloody fight’ if LNP attacks nurses’ right to strike

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State government offered to backdate wages for nurses and midwives on condition they do not undertake protected industrial action in May

The Queensland union movement has warned the state’s conservative government it will be in for a “hell of a bloody fight” if it pursues threats to strip nurses and midwives of backpay should they enact their legal right to strike.

A pay dispute between the LNP government and the Queensland Nurses and Midwives’ Union (QNMU) is ongoing after their previous enterprise agreement expired on 31 March.

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Sacked Melbourne lawyer who chucked sickie to go to the AFL loses bid to get his job back

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Fair Work Commission finds Mitchell Fuller was not unfairly dismissed for taking a sick day while at the AFL Gather Round in Adelaide

A Melbourne lawyer who pulled a sickie so he could attend the AFL Gather Round in South Australia has failed in a bid to get his job back after his own social media posts proved he was fit for work.

The Fair Work Commission found this week that Mitchell Fuller, who was fired as a solicitor with Madison Branson Lawyers in August last year, was not unfairly dismissed.

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Major staff cuts on table at Victorian magistrates court, threatening Allan government’s crime crackdown

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Potential cuts expected to more than 25% of backroom staff, underlining challenge for state government crippled by debt but trying to bolster public safety

The Victorian magistrates court is considering cutting more than a quarter of its backroom staff despite its workload likely increasing as the Allan government presses ahead with “tough on crime” policies.

Leaked documents show it is proposed that 24 out of 92 staff from the courts’ corporate services department are made redundant, including those working in family violence and legal policy areas.

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Doctors in NSW public hospitals threaten three-day strike over pay dispute, defying ban

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State government warns industrial action could halt elective surgeries, as doctors seek pay rise of up to 30%

Thousands of doctors in public hospitals across New South Wales are threatening to strike for the first time in decades as they seek a pay rise of up to 30%, as the state government warns the action could halt elective surgeries.

Doctors have threatened a three-day walkout from public hospitals from Tuesday. It marks the latest medical industrial dispute to potentially escalate into diminished patient care, after Guardian Australia on Wednesday revealed that the mass resignation of public psychiatrists over pay and conditions has led to the closure of the HIV psychiatry clinic at Sydney’s Royal Prince Alfred’s hospital.

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NSW psychiatrist quit when workload threatened patient safety, court hears

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Dr Suzanna Goodison’s evidence before Industrial Relations Commission part of the push by doctors union to stem exodus of specialists from the public system

A New South Wales psychiatrist who was asked to take on the workload of two public hospitals quit because the amount of work was “untenable” and compromised patient safety, a court has heard.

Dr Suzanna Goodison appeared as a witness for the doctors union, the Australian Salaried Medical Officers’ Federation (Asmof), on day two of its arbitration with NSW Health in the Industrial Relations Commission (IRC) court in Sydney. Asmof is seeking a special levy to increase its members’ pay by 25% to stem the flow of specialist doctors leaving the public system.

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Australia news live: NSW health system ‘catastrophically let down’ toddler’s family, minister admits

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Two-year-old waited in emergency department for three hours before suffering a cardiac arrest and dying. Follow today’s news headlines live

Victoria to offer contactless public transport tickets from next year

Victorians will be able to use their phones, bank cards or smartwatches to pay for public transport travel from “early next year in a staged approach”, according to reports.

Following a successful start of a ticketless bus trial in Wangaratta, the Allan Labor Government will begin switching on tap-and-go technology across Victoria’s public transport network from early next year in a staged approach – meaning some passengers will soon be able to use their bank cards, phones and smart watches to travel on full fare tickets.

The new ticketing system will continue to be underpinned by extensive technical testing and will be carefully rolled out starting with rail from the beginning early next year – allowing full fare passengers more ways to pay for their travel.

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Sydney commuters get four-month reprieve from rail industrial action after Fair Work ruling

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Rail union work stoppages to be suspended until 1 July as unions and state government try to strike pay deal

Sydney commuters have been granted a more than four-month reprieve from industrial action on the city’s train network, after the Fair Work Commission ordered rail union work stoppages be suspended until 1 July.

On Wednesday evening, the Fair Work Commission announced that while it would not grant the six-month suspension that the New South Wales government had requested, it would temporarily halt all industrial action to help unions and the government strike a pay deal.

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Australia news live: embattled casino operator Star offered $650m lifeline; name of next cyclone changed from Anthony to avoid using PM’s name

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Hume rules out working with teals if Coalition wins 70-72 seats

Jane Hume was asked whether the Coalition was in a position to form any alliances with the crossbench, amid new polling from YouGov showing neither party looks to be coming out with a clear majority.

That would cause chaos, and would cause chaos politically and economically as well.

On average, the teals have voted with the Greens around 78% of the time, with Labor around 75% of the time, and with the Coalition around 18% of the time.

I think it’s really important to look at what people do rather than what people say. We’re planning on going to this election to win the election, because Australians deserve better than what they’ve had for the last three years.

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