HR Legislative Brief — Week 34 of 2026
This week: the FWC's first minimum standards order for gig delivery workers takes effect, NSW nurses and midwives win pay rises of up to 28 percent, and Victoria delays its work from home right by ten months.
Human Resources, Weekly Legislative & IR Brief
HR, IR & recruitment legislative changes across Australia
Amendments, commencements and proposals moving through Commonwealth, state and territory employment, industrial relations and recruitment law, plus New Zealand developments and notable tribunal decisions.
Three to watch this week
- National — The Fair Work Commission's first-ever minimum standards order for on-demand delivery gig workers took effect this week, made by a Full Bench on 11 August 2026 and setting minimum pay from $31.30/hr for an estimated 250,000 workers on platforms including Uber Eats and DoorDash.
- New South Wales — A Full Bench of the NSW Industrial Relations Commission awarded public health nurses and midwives pay rises of up to 28 per cent, finding their work had been historically undervalued due to gendered assumptions, in one of the largest state tribunal pay decisions in more than 20 years.
- Victoria — New Premier Ben Carroll has delayed the statutory right to work from home two days a week from 1 September 2026 to 1 July 2027 after business lobbying, though he says the bill will still pass before the state election on 28 November.
National
First-ever minimum standards order sets pay floor for gig delivery workers
A Full Bench made the on-demand delivery minimum standards order on 11 August 2026, and it took effect this week, setting minimum pay from $31.30/hr for bike riders up to $32/hr for car drivers, plus new injury insurance and deactivation protections for an estimated 250,000 gig workers.
Fair Work Commission ↗FWC rules to phase out junior pay rates for 18 to 20 year olds
A Full Bench decision on the SDA's application will abolish junior rates for employees aged 18 and over with at least six months' service in the General Retail, Fast Food and Pharmacy Industry awards, unaffecting under-18 rates, with phasing toward full adult pay over up to four years from a provisional 1 December 2026 start.
Fair Work Commission ↗Closing Loopholes statutory review nears its Parliament tabling deadline
Reviewer Susan Booth delivered the final report of the statutory review of the Closing Loopholes Acts to the minister on 15 June 2026, and it must be tabled in Parliament within 15 sitting days, placing the deadline around 20 August 2026, with preliminary findings suggesting most reforms are operating as intended.
DEWR ↗FWO pursues labour hire underpayment case over Japanese fruit pickers
The Fair Work Ombudsman has active Federal Circuit and Family Court litigation against a NSW Mid North Coast labour hire operator over alleged underpayment of Japanese fruit pickers, with a directions hearing held 7 August 2026 under the criminal wage theft regime that commenced 1 January 2025.
Fair Work Ombudsman ↗Privacy Act reform may still narrow the employee records exemption
OAIC continues to flag that the broad Privacy Act exemption for employee records could be narrowed to strengthen transparency and protection of employee personal information, following consultation with employer and employee groups, though no bill or commencement date has been set.
OAIC ↗New South Wales
NSW IRC awards nurses and midwives pay rises of up to 28 per cent
A Full Bench of the NSW Industrial Relations Commission found nursing and midwifery work had been historically undervalued due to gendered assumptions, awarding assistants in nursing 28%, enrolled nurses 18%, and registered nurses and midwives 16% over the award term for close to 70,000 public health system workers, among the largest state IRC pay decisions in more than 20 years.
NSW Industrial Relations Commission ↗New Local Government (State) Award locks in 4% annual increases
The NSW Industrial Relations Commission consented to a new three year award for local government employees, providing 4% increases in each of 2026, 2027 and 2028, with no "no extra claims" clause preserving scope for mid-term variation.
NSW Industrial Relations Commission ↗Law Reform Commission proposes real enforcement teeth for the Anti-Discrimination Act
A second consultation paper addresses enforcement and procedural reform, including broader powers to initiate complaints, investigate organisations, and impose positive duties to eliminate discrimination and vilification, the first major overhaul of NSW discrimination law in decades.
NSW Law Reform Commission ↗Victoria
Victoria delays statutory work from home right by ten months
New Premier Ben Carroll has pushed back commencement of the Equal Opportunity Amendment (Work from Home) Bill, which would give employees working 38 hours a week a right to work from home two days a week, from 1 September 2026 to 1 July 2027, after lobbying from business groups. The bill passed the Legislative Assembly on 30 July 2026 and remains before the Legislative Council, with Carroll saying it will still pass before the state election on 28 November 2026.
Parliament of Victoria ↗Remuneration bands adjusted for Victorian public service executives
The Victorian Remuneration Tribunal adjusted remuneration bands for executives employed in Victorian public service bodies.
Victorian Remuneration Tribunal ↗Queensland
Queensland public sector wage offer rejected, backpay lost
Together Queensland rejected the government's offer for the replacement State Government Entities Certified Agreement on 31 July 2026, causing the offer, including a 3.5% increase backdated to 1 July, to lapse after around 15 central and 40 entity level bargaining meetings since January, with negotiations continuing.
Queensland Government ↗Five-year review of Queensland's IR and workers compensation Acts underway
Independent reviewers examining the Industrial Relations Act 2016 and Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 closed submissions on 31 May 2026, taking into account CFMEU Royal Commission findings, rising psychological injury claims, and the suitability of self-insurance arrangements.
Office of Industrial Relations Qld ↗2026 State Wage Case seeks increases for Queensland award employees
The Queensland Council of Unions and Together Queensland applied on 2 June 2026 for a General Ruling seeking wage and allowance adjustments for award employees and the Queensland Minimum Wage, with no determination published yet.
Queensland Industrial Relations Commission ↗Western Australia
Unfair dismissal salary threshold rises to $212,800 in WA
The WA Industrial Relations Commission's maximum salary level for lodging unfair dismissal or denied contractual benefit claims, for employees not covered by an industrial instrument, rose from $204,600 to $212,800.
WA Industrial Relations Commission ↗New Public Sector Wages Policy Statement governs WA bargaining
The 2026 policy prioritises collective bargaining, permanent employment and regional attraction and retention, and now applies to WA public sector agreements expiring after 6 May 2026, with agreements that expired before that date remaining under the previous 2023 policy.
WA Government ↗Equal Opportunity Act reform still without a settled path to Parliament
The Premier has foreshadowed government amendments based on the WA Law Reform Commission's 163 recommendations, including removing the disadvantage test for sexual harassment complaints and introducing a positive duty, while a separate non-government bill covering similar ground was introduced in June 2026.
Parliament of WA ↗South Australia
SA Public Sector Enterprise Agreement delivers low-paid wage catch-up
The Salaried 2026 agreement, formally approved by SAET on 4 March 2026 and expiring 1 July 2027, provides 3.75%, 3.5% and 3.25% increases over three years plus up to $6,000 in base wage catch-up for low-paid classifications and improved paid parental leave access.
SA Employment Tribunal ↗SAET expands Respectful Behaviours Guidelines for the legal profession
The South Australian Employment Tribunal broadened its Respectful Behaviours Guidelines to add sections on leadership and power imbalance and conduct outside the courtroom, building on a 2024 Equal Opportunity Commissioner review into harassment in the state's legal profession.
SA Employment Tribunal ↗Weekly paid state employees reach award parity
Aged care, disability and child care workers received immediate parity with the relevant federal modern award under the Wages Parity Enterprise Agreement, with other weekly-paid state system employees receiving staged 4%, 3.5% and 3.5% increases.
SA Attorney-General's Department ↗Tasmania
Tasmanian State Service award variations finalised with staggered start dates
Following the 93% ballot Public Sector Unions Wages Agreement, delivering a three year 3%/3%/2.75% wage package, the Tasmanian Industrial Commission varied public sector awards with most changes effective 11 May 2026, while the Right to Disconnect and gender affirmation leave at half pay commenced 1 June 2026.
Tasmanian Government ↗Tasmanian State Service Award reissued as a single consolidated instrument
The Tasmanian Industrial Commission issued a consolidated reprint of the Tasmanian State Service Award, folding recent salary and condition variations into one document.
Tasmanian Industrial Commission ↗Australian Capital Territory
Positive duty to eliminate discrimination extends beyond public authorities in 2027
The ACT's positive duty to eliminate discrimination, sexual harassment and vilification currently binds public authorities only. From April 2027 it extends to all organisations and persons with management responsibility, scaled to their size and resources.
ACT Human Rights Commission ↗ACT public service agreement moves to formal ballot
Following a further pay offer issued 20 July 2026, including cost of living payments of $600 to $1,000, the access period for the new 2026 to 2029 enterprise agreement began 12 August 2026, with employee balloting due to open 26 August 2026.
ACT Government ↗Northern Territory
NT streamlines Anti-Discrimination Act complaints process
The mandatory evaluation stage has been removed from Anti-Discrimination Commission complaint handling, unresolved conciliated complaints can now proceed directly to NTCAT, and a new representative complaints pathway lets the Commissioner pursue systemic discrimination affecting groups.
NT Anti-Discrimination Commission ↗New Zealand
Employment Leave Act 2026 replaces the Holidays Act
The Act, which received Royal Assent on 6 August 2026, repeals the Holidays Act 2003 and moves annual and sick leave to an hours-based accrual model, with a 12.5% upfront leave payment for casual and additional hours, a new Otherwise Working Day test for public holidays, parental leave provisions from 1 July 2027, and a two year transition window for employers and payroll providers.
MBIE ↗Contractor gateway test and high income threshold reshape dismissal risk
The Employment Relations Amendment Act 2026 lets a written contractor agreement lock in contractor status immune from later Employment Relations Authority challenge, and excludes employees earning above NZD 200,000 a year from bringing an unjustified dismissal personal grievance, with a 12 month transition period for existing relationships.
NZ Legislation ↗Pay equity coalition lodges formal UN complaint over 2025 law changes
Pay Equity Coalition Aotearoa, including the NZCTU and the Human Rights Commission, lodged a formal complaint with the UN CEDAW Committee on 6 May 2026, alleging the Equal Pay Amendment Act's cancellation of about 180,000 pay equity claims amounts to systemic gender discrimination, with the UN now assessing admissibility.
RNZ ↗Recruitment & Migration
Ministerial Direction 119 reshapes skilled visa processing priorities
MD119 prioritises law enforcement, defence, construction, healthcare and teaching occupations, and applicants already in Australia over offshore applicants, across all on-hand nomination and visa applications including the Skills in Demand (subclass 482) visa.
Department of Home Affairs ↗Sponsor salary floors rise for Skills in Demand visa nominations
The Core Skills Income Threshold rose 3.9% to $79,499 for nominations lodged on or after 1 July 2026, with the Specialist Skills Income Threshold also increasing. Nominations lodged before that date use the prior figures.
Department of Home Affairs ↗New Zealand tightens Skilled Migrant Category with new occupation lists
From 24 August 2026, Immigration New Zealand introduces a Trades and Technician pathway alongside red and amber occupation lists, requiring red list roles to pay 1.5 times the median wage or hold a bachelor's degree, and amber list roles to show five years' experience including two years at 1.2 times the median wage.
Immigration New Zealand ↗Victoria tightens labour hire licensing fit and proper person test
Victorian labour hire licence applicants and renewals now face an expanded fit and proper person test covering bankruptcy, consumer protection and corporate regulation compliance, plus new mandatory financial viability declarations, with further amendments to the definition of labour hire services flagged for later in 2026.
Labour Hire Authority Victoria ↗SA labour hire licensing now covers every industry
Reforms extended South Australia's labour hire licensing scheme beyond horticulture, meat and seafood processing, cleaning and trolley collection to all industries, with a six month grace period for existing providers ending 29 July 2026.
SafeWork SA ↗Case Law & Tribunal Decisions
McFadden v Mars Australia Pty Ltd [2026] FWC 2772
A Deputy President ordered reinstatement with back pay for a 23 year Mars team leader dismissed over management of a contaminated confectionery batch, finding the investigation prejudged her role while ignoring procedural failures by other staff.
Fair Work Commission ↗Blair v Endeavour Group Limited [2026] FWC 1873
A Commissioner found a BWS employee's dismissal, for lowering a roller door to deter shoplifters, was harsh and ordered reinstatement with 50% back pay, finding the isolated incident did not amount to a pattern warranting termination. Endeavour Group has appealed and sought a stay, with no Full Bench decision published as of this week.
Fair Work Commission ↗Mejia v Capital City Café-Bar Pty Ltd [2026] FedCFamC2G 468
The Federal Circuit and Family Court found the sole director of a Sydney bar operator personally sexually harassed an employee and ordered him to pay $90,000, including $50,000 compensation and a $9,390 penalty, among the first final judgments under the Fair Work Act's provisions enabling direct court action for sexual harassment.
Fair Work Ombudsman ↗Adams v EverEdge Global Ltd [2026] NZERA 509
The Employment Relations Authority found a company that simply stopped paying its founder chief executive's salary for three pay cycles, as leverage in a boardroom dispute over a share sale, had constructively dismissed him, ordering close to $266,000 in arrears, lost remuneration, compensation and a good faith penalty.
NZ Employment Relations Authority ↗FWO sues transport operator and directors over $297,000 in unpaid entitlements
The Fair Work Ombudsman alleges a Melbourne livestock transport operator failed to pay 23 workers, including 21 truck drivers, a combined $297,335 in redundancy and notice entitlements after abruptly texting staff that the business had closed, with the director and manager personally exposed to penalties of up to $18,780 per contravention.
Fair Work Ombudsman ↗