This submission contains MIAL’s feedback on behalf of its members into the Secure Jobs Better Pay Review.

The Fair Work Amendment (Secure Job Better Pay) Act 2022 (SJBP Act) was introduced after a period of truncated consultation. When the opportunity was afforded, during various committee investigations into the changes when they were originally proposed as part of various stages of proposed reforms to the Fair Work Act 2009 (FW Act), MIAL provided responses focused on areas that were anticipated to be of interest to MIAL members.

This review comes a short period after the introduction of these reforms, meaning there is a limited sample size to review and understand any direct impacts. Many of the changes, for example, were targeted towards bargaining.

For businesses that routinely bargain, given when changes have taken effect, and their bargaining cycle driven by the impending expiry of existing agreements, there are likely many businesses that have not experienced the effect of these changes at this point in time. Notwithstanding the limited time exposure, there are some areas where feedback may provide a valuable perspective.