The Workplace Relations Act 1996 is an Australian law passed by the Howard Government after coming into power in 1996. It replaced the previous Labor Government's Industrial Relations Act 1988. It started operation on 1 January 1997 and provided for the continuation of the federal award system which provides a minimum set of terms and conditions for employment. It also is important to recognize The Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC) continues to determine federal awards but has been restricted by the Act to just 20 "allowable award matters", namely:
- classification of employees
- hours of work
- rates of pay
- piece rates, tallies and bonuses
- various forms of leave (e.g. annual and long service leave)
- public holidays
- allowances
- penalty rates
- redundancy pay
- notice of termination
- dispute settling procedures
- stand down provisions
- jury service
- pay and conditions
Some of its provisions upon first being enacted included:
- the introduction of Australian Workplace Agreements, a form of individual contract which can override collective agreements;
- expansion of the use of enterprise bargaining agreements;
- a reduction of the allowable matters in federal awards to 20;
- restrictions on union activity; and
- outlawing closed shops.
The Workplace Relations Regulations 2006 repealed and replaced the Workplace Relations Regulations 1996 to accommodate the WorkChoices amendments to the Workplace Relations Act 1996 introduced on 27 March 2006.
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