Transition from WorkChoices to Fair Work

The outgoing WorkChoices legislation was developed as a consequence of Industrial Relations changes that came into effect as of 27 March 2006, under the Howard Government. The Workplace Relations Amendment (Work Choices) Bill 2005 (Cth) brought significant industrial relations changes to the country.

Following the Rudd Labor Government election victory in November 2007, this legislation was amended, with the bill's proposed amendments giving effect to the election promises made by the Rudd Government.

On 13 February 2008 parliament introduced a Workplace Relations Amendment (Transition to Forward with Fairness) Bill. This Bill includes amendments to the Workplace Relations Act 1996 and it makes a number of changes to the framework of workplace agreements.

The second bill that was introduced was the Fair Work (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Bill 2009, on 19 March 2009. This bill serves to cover transitional arrangements as contained in the earlier Workplace Relations Amendment (Transition to Forward with Fairness) Bill.

The new Fair Work system commenced on 1 July 2009. It is Australia's new national workplace relations system. The new system is created by the Fair Work Act 2009 and covers the majority of workplaces in Australia.

Whilst the implementation of the Fair Work Act 2009 occurred on 1 July 2009, there will be a "bridging period" between 1 July 2009 and 1 January 2010, which will be the date of the full implementation of the new system. This "bridging period" will be covered by the Fair Work (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Bill 2009.

If your concerned how the transition to the new Fair Work system will affect you, please call us on 1300 QUINNS (1300 784 667) or +61 2 9223 9166 or complete and submit the Express Enquiry form on the top right hand side of this page and we will contact you to discuss your enquiry.