The Australian government recently introduced a bill to expand unpaid parental leave entitlements and to ease leave restrictions on employee couples. The Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Protecting Worker Entitlements) Bill 2023 (“the Bill”) was introduced by the Federal Government on 29 March 2023. The Bill is in the initial legislative stages and has not yet been enacted.
The Australian government recently announced that the existing government-paid primary caregiver parental leave and partners leave will be combined into a single 20 week leave available to, and shareable between, both parents starting from 1 July 2023. Once combined, the parental leave will increase by an additional 2 weeks every year from 1 July 2024 until it reaches 26 weeks on 1 July 2026.
The Australian government recently passed an amendment bill to provide employees with 10 days of employer-paid family and domestic violence leave. The Fair Work Amendment Bill 2022 was introduced on 28 July 2022, by the Australian Labor Party following the May 2022 federal election.
The Australian government recently announced an additional employer-paid public holiday on Thursday, 22 September 2022, for the mourning of the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of England.
The Australian Fair Work Commission (FWC) has increased the national minimum wage by 5.2%, effective 1 July 2022. Modern Award minimum wages also increased by 4.6% per week, effective from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 July 2022, or 1 October 2022, based on industry.
On 1 July 2021, the Australian government increased the superannuation guarantee contribution rate by 0.5% to 10% on earnings up to the new maximum contribution base of AUD 58,920 per quarter. The concessional contribution cap has also increased to AUD 27,500. The increases will help stimulate Australia’s post-pandemic economy and support a better retirement for eligible workers.
When no choice of a superannuation fund is made by a newly hired employee, employers or their tax agents are now mandated to source the name of their new employee’s existing superannuation fund from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). The […]
The Australian Fair Work Commission (FWC) increased the national minimum wage by 2.5%, effective 1 July 2021. Modern award minimum wages also increased by 2.5% in three different stages depending on the industry. Modern award minimum wage increases will be […]
The Australian government passed the Paid Parental Leave Amendment (Flexibility Measures) Act 2020 in June 2020. This legislation provides parents with children born or adopted on or after 1 July 2020 more flexibility in how they take their paid parental […]
On 28 October 2019, the Australian parliament approved new legislation intended to end the current loophole that allows employers to use their employees’ salary sacrifice contributions to reduce their minimum compulsory Superannuation Guarantee (SG) contributions. The bill entered into effect […]