Last Friday, the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC) released the final Stage 2 modern awards - the final Stage 1 modern awards having been released in December 2008.
The Stage 1 and 2 Awards include important industries and occupations such as call centres, clerks (which will affect almost all employers across Australia), financial services (including banks and insurers – some of whom are largely award free), hospitality, IT, manufacturing and retail.
You can access the Stage 1 and 2 awards from the links at the bottom of this Update.
The Stage 3 and 4 industries can also be found at the bottom of this Update. The Stage 3 draft awards are due out in May 2009, with consultations over Stage 4 starting in July 2009.
With only limited exceptions, the modern awards will apply to all employers within the national system from 1 January 2010 and will replace most current federal awards and former state awards (known as Notional Agreements Preserving State Awards or NAPSAs).
This has important consequences – including, from 1 January 2010:
- some employees will be entitled to higher wages;
- some employees will be entitled to new minimum conditions or different (potentially higher) minimum conditions – including as to:
- penalty rates
- overtime
- shift loadings
- allowances; and
- leave loading.
This follows from the meshing of different terms and conditions across the various awards which are being consolidated into each modern award;
- some employees may become subject to an award for the first time. In fact, in some industries, some employers who have been largely award free will have to deal with awards for the first time.
Importantly, if an employer has an enterprise agreement, this does not necessarily mean they are exempt from the modern awards:
- if the enterprise agreement operates in conjunction with the underpinning award, then at least some parts of the modern award may apply;
- the minimum wage rates in an applicable modern award apply if the employer has an enterprise agreement with lower wage rates.
However, a modern award does not apply to an employer covered by an enterprise award (or enterprise NAPSA) – for employees within the scope of the enterprise award anyway. Nor does a modern award apply to high income employees – essentially being employees earning more than $100,000 FTE (but indexed from August 2007 and excluding SGC).
As far as transitional arrangements are concerned:
- Fair Work Australia (the successor to the AIRC) can make orders phasing in the modern awards over up to 5 years. However, no phasing in orders have yet been made;
- Fair Work Australia can also make 'take home pay orders' to prevent the overall take home pay of employees being reduced due to award modernisation;
- the AIRC will be accepting written submissions on transitional arrangements for Stage 1 and 2 (which must be filed by 29 May 2009) and will conduct public hearings in the week of 13 July 2009. Transitional issues with Stage 3 and 4 will be dealt with later.
Finally, the AIRC has made some minor adjustments to some of the standard clauses in the modern awards – including the individual flexibility arrangements.
Links to Stage 1 and 2 Modern awards
Aged Care Award 2010
Banking, Finance and Insurance Award 2010
Black Coal Mining Industry Award 2010
Building and Construction General On-site Award 2010
Business Equipment Award 2010
Cleaning Services Award 2010
Clerks—Private Sector Award 2010
Contract Call Centres Award 2010
Cotton Ginning Award 2010
Electrical, Electronic and Communications Contracting Award 2010
Fast Food Industry Award 2010
General Retail Industry Award 2010
Graphic Arts, Printing and Publishing Award 2010
Hair and Beauty Industry Award 2010
Health Professionals and Support Services Award 2010
Higher Education Industry—Academic Staff—Award 2010
Higher Education Industry—General Staff—Award 2010
Horse and Greyhound Training Award 2010
Horticulture Award 2010
Hospitality Industry (General) Award 2010
Joinery and Building Trades Award 2010
Manufacturing and Associated Industries and Occupations Award 2010
Market and Social Research Award 2010
Medical Practitioners Award 2010
Mining Industry Award 2010
Mobile Crane Hiring Award 2010
Nursery Award 2010
Nurses Award 2010
Pastoral Award 2010
Pharmacy Industry Award 2010
Plumbing and Fire Sprinklers Award 2010
Quarrying Award 2010
Racing Clubs Events Award 2010
Racing Industry Ground Maintenance Award 2010
Rail Industry Award 2010
Road Transport and Distribution Award 2010
Road Transport (Long Distance Operations) Award 2010
Security Services Industry Award 2010
Silviculture Award 2010
Telecommunications Services Award 2010
Textile, Clothing, Footwear and Associated Industries Award 2010
Transport (Cash in Transit) Award 2010
Waste Management Award 2010
Wool Storage, Sampling and Testing Award 2010
Stage 3
Airline operations
Airport operations (other than Retail)
Aluminium industry
Arts administration
Cement and concrete products inc asphalt and bitumen
Cemetery operations
Coal treatment industry
Defence support
Educational services (other than Higher Education)
Electrical power industry
Entertainment and broadcasting industry (other than Racing)
Food, beverages and tobacco industry (manufacturing)
Grocery products manufacture
Journalism
Licensed and registered clubs
Liquor and accommodation industry (manufacturing)
Maritime industry
Meat industry
Offshore island resorts
Oil and gas industry
Paper products industry
Pet food manufacturing
Pharmaceutical industry
Photographic industry
Port and harbour services
Postal services (other than Australia Post)
Private transport industry (remaining sectors)
Public transport industry (other than Rail)
Publishing industry
Scientific services (including Professional Engineers and Scientists)
Storage services
Sugar industry
Technical services
Timber industry
Tourism industry
Travel industry
Vehicle industry (repair, service and retail)
Vehicle manufacturing industry
Wholesale and retail trade (wholesale) and commercial travellers
Stage 4
Christmas Island
Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Diving services
Dry cleaning and laundry services
Fire fighting services
Funeral directing
Gardening services (other than Racing)
General award (see consolidated Request clause 4A)
Grain handling industry
Health and welfare services (remainder)
Industries not otherwise assigned
Local government administration
Mannequins and modelling industry
Northern Territory (remainder)
State government administration
Water, sewerage and drainage services