The potential impact of the Fair Work Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Act 2022 on collective bargaining in Australia: Reviewing the new multi-employer bargaining provisions and other measures to promote bargaining

Abstract

2022 was a year of major change in the legal framework for industrial relations in Australia. Newly elected in May 2022, the Albanese ALP Government immediately commenced an ambitious reform agenda for labour relations, convening a National Jobs and Skills Summit in September 2022, and shortly thereafter achieving the passage of the Fair Work Legislation Amendment ( Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Act 2022 (SJBP Act). One central aim of the SJBP Act was to address shortcomings in the legal framework for collective bargaining found in the Fair Work Act 2009 (FW Act), and to this end, the amendments introduced new provisions for multi-employer bargaining, made changes to the agreement approval provisions and changed the bargaining landscape around intractable disputes. This article examines key aspects of the SJBP Act impacting collective bargaining in Australia. In particular, we consider the new provisions for multi-employer bargaining in the ‘Single Interest Employer Bargaining’ stream along with amendments of the FW Act relating to the commencement of bargaining for single-enterprise agreements, agreement-making using small voting cohorts, the resolution of intractable bargaining disputes, applications to terminate enterprise agreements, and the sunsetting of the so-called ‘zombie’ agreements. This analysis of the new legal provisions is situated in the context of recent union campaigns and bargaining disputes at various Australian employers, enabling us to explain the rationale for the amendments and assess their practical utility and limitations.