The Employment Act: A New Landmark Workplace Reform Proposal

The H.R. Nicholls Society today publicly releases its most extensive reform paper to date, The Employment Act: A Modern Blueprint for Workplace Reform, which calls for urgent changes to Australia's broken workplace relations system.  

The Blueprint responds to urgent warnings about the unfairness, rigidity, and impracticality of the Fair Work Act 2009. As productivity growth stalls and small businesses struggle under excessive regulations, The Employment Act proposes legislative reforms to simplify and modernise workplace laws. 

“Despite all the rhetoric around fairness, the reality is that our Fair Work Act, with its layers of complexity and rigidity, is neither fair nor fit for a modern economy," Frank Parry KC, President of the H.R. Nicholls Society, said.

“Small businesses are overwhelmed, drowning in paperwork, and enterprise bargaining has been all but killed off. The productivity gains that once propelled our economy have slowed to a crawl.

"In its recent productivity inquiry, the Productivity Commission reported that Australia’s average annual labour productivity growth has been the slowest in 60 years—a sobering statistic that should alarm anyone concerned with our nation’s long-term prosperity.

“This is a crisis that can no longer be ignored. Australia’s workplace relations framework is shackling our potential. The Fair Work Act’s one-size-fits-all approach has stifled innovation and reduced flexibility. By centralising workplace conditions—such as introducing multi-employer bargaining—and eliminating the option for individual agreements, the Fair Work Act is condemning Australia to decades of stagnant productivity, locking the country into a framework that fails to meet the demands of a modern economy.

"The H.R. Nicholls Society’s reform paper offers a clear way forward. The Employment Act recommends sweeping changes across five core areas, from abolishing Modern Awards, which have long failed both employers and employees, to reinstating enterprise bargaining as a key driver of productivity growth."

Key recommendations in the paper include:

• Abolishing Modern Awards in favour of a simplified minimum wage and streamlined National Employment Standards.

• Reinstating individual bargaining, allowing direct negotiations between employers and employees with necessary protections.

• Raising the small business threshold from 15 to 50 employees, bringing Australia in line with global standards.

• Creating the National Employment Appeals Tribunal (NEAT) to provide a faster, more efficient dispute resolution process.

The release of this paper is a vital component of the H.R. Nicholls Society’s efforts to strengthen Australia’s economic outlook.

“We can’t afford to keep tinkering with a broken system,” said Mr. Parry. “This is about real reform, and The Employment Act lays out the blueprint to make that happen.”