Fair Work Act Act No. 28 of 2009 as amended
Chapter 1—Introduction
Part 1–1—Introduction
Division 1—Preliminary
1 Short title [see Note 1[1]]
This Act may be cited as the Fair Work Act 2009.
2 Commencement
(1) Each provision of this Act specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.
Commencement information
Column 1
Column 2
Column 3
Provision(s)
Commencement
Date/Details
1. Sections 1 and 2 and anything in this Act not elsewhere covered by this table
The day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent.
7 April 2009
2. Sections 3 to 40
A single day to be fixed by Proclamation.
However, if any of the provision(s) do not commence within the period of 12 months beginning on the day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent, they commence on the first day after the end of that period.
26 May 2009
(see F2009L01818)
3. Sections 41 to 572
A day or days to be fixed by Proclamation.
A Proclamation must not specify a day that occurs before the day on which the Fair Work (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 2009 receives the Royal Assent.
However, if any of the provision(s) do not commence within the period of 12 months beginning on the day on which the Fair Work (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 2009 receives the Royal Assent, they commence on the first day after the end of that period.
Sections 41–43, 50–54, 58,
169–281A,
300–327, 332, 333, 334–572: 1 July 2009
(see F2009L02563)
Sections 44–49, 55–57A,
59–168,
282–299,
328–331, 333A: 1 January 2010
(see F2009L02563)
4. Sections 573 to 718
At the same time as the provision(s) covered by table item 2.
26 May 2009
5. Sections 719 to 800
A day or days to be fixed by Proclamation.
A Proclamation must not specify a day that occurs before the day on which the Fair Work (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 2009 receives the Royal Assent.
However, if any of the provision(s) do not commence within the period of 12 months beginning on the day on which the Fair Work (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 2009 receives the Royal Assent, they commence on the first day after the end of that period.
Sections
719–740,
769–800: 1 July 2009
(see F2009L02563)
Sections
741–768: 1 January 2010
(see F2009L02563)
6. Schedule 1
At the same time as the provision(s) covered by table item 2.
26 May 2009
Note: This table relates only to the provisions of this Act as originally passed by both Houses of the Parliament and assented to. It will not be expanded to deal with provisions inserted in this Act after assent.
(2) Column 3 of the table contains additional information that is not part of this Act. Information in this column may be added to or edited in any published version of this Act.
Division 2—Object of this Act
3 Object of this Act
The object of this Act is to provide a balanced framework for cooperative and productive workplace relations that promotes national economic prosperity and social inclusion for all Australians by:
(a) providing workplace relations laws that are fair to working Australians, are flexible for businesses, promote productivity and economic growth for Australia’s future economic prosperity and take into account Australia’s international labour obligations; and
(b) ensuring a guaranteed safety net of fair, relevant and enforceable minimum terms and conditions through the National Employment Standards, modern awards and national minimum wage orders;and
(c) ensuring that the guaranteed safety net of fair, relevant and enforceable minimum wages and conditions can no longer be undermined by the making of statutory individual employment agreements of any kind given that such agreements can never be part of a fair workplace relations system; and
(d) assisting employees to balance their work and family responsibilities by providing for flexible working arrangements; and
(e) enabling fairness and representation at work and the prevention of discrimination by recognising the right to freedom of association and the right to be represented, protecting against unfair treatment and discrimination, providing accessible and effective procedures to resolve grievances and disputes and providing effective compliance mechanisms; and
(f) achieving productivity and fairness through an emphasis on enterprise-level collective bargaining underpinned by simple good faith bargaining obligations and clear rules governing industrial action; and
(g) acknowledging the special circumstances of small and medium-sized businesses.
Division 3—Guide to this Act
4 Guide to this Act
Overview of this Act
(1) This Act is about workplace relations. It:
(a) provides for terms and conditions of employment (Chapter 2); and
(b) sets out rights and responsibilities of employees, employers and organisations in relation to that employment (Chapter 3); and
(c) provides for compliance with, and enforcement of, this Act (Chapter 4); and
(d) provides for the administration of this Act by establishing Fair Work Australia and the Office of the Fair Work Ombudsman (Chapter 5); and
(e) deals with other matters relating to the above (Chapter 6).
Overview of the rest of this Chapter
(2) The rest of this Chapter deals with:
(a) definitions that are used in this Act (Part 1–2); and
(b) the application of this Act (Part 1–3), including how this Act interacts with certain State and Territory laws and its geographical application.
Definitions
(3) Many of the terms in this Act are defined. The Dictionary in section 12 contains