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Australian Workplace Agreements under Work Choices

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2023

Kristin van Barneveld
Kristin van Barneveld*
Affiliation:
ACIRRT, University of Sydney
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Abstract

This paper details how AWAs are made under the Workplace Relations Amendment (Work Choices) Act 2005. The Work Choices amendments introduce significant changes to agreement-making. The most significant of these changes are the abolition of the no-disadvantage test, the effect of termination of agreements, and the new ‘safety net’ provided by the Fair Pay and Conditions Standard. Employers have welcomed these changes as a step closer to a system of common law regulation of the employment relationship. However, for employees, the simplification of the approval process and the removal of the vetting of Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs), may expose them to AWAs which contain low wages and very limited conditions of employment. How far down this path some employers will attempt to go is yet unknown but it is clear that for some AWA employees, there will be considerable detriment to their working conditions and entitlements.

Type
Work Choices: A Critical Analysis
Information
The Economic and Labour Relations Review , Volume 16 , Issue 2: Work Choices: A Critical Analysis , May 2006 , pp. 165 - 191
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2006

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