Progress on Employment Relations Act 2000 changes
The Employment Relations (Triangular Employment) Amendment Bill read more about the Bill here was introduced in February 2018 and had its first reading in March and is now at the Select Committee. The Committee usually has six (6) months to report to the House. During this time, they usually call for public submissions, hear evidence on such submissions, and then make recommendations to the House. Submissions for this Bill closed on 11 May 2018 and the Education and Workforce Select Committee are expected to report to the House on 21 September 2018.
After this time, the Bill will go to the Second Reading which is the main debate parliament will have in respect of the principles of the Bill. After having this debate any amendments to the Bill that did not have the unanimous support of the Committee are voted on together. The Bill can also be defeated at this stage and therefore will not become legislation if this is the case the process must commence again.
However, if this is not the case, the Bill will go to the Committee of the Whole House where all members of the House are to consider the Bill in detail and make further amendments which members may propose in writing. There are no timeframes on this stage of the process however, once the final form of the Bill has been agreed, it goes to the Third Reading.
The Third Reading is the last chance members have to debate and decide whether the Bill should be passed into law. This debate can last up to two (2) hours and once agreed, the Bill will be submitted to the Governor-General for Royal Assent. Once Royal Assent is granted the Bill will become law within six (6) months.
The Employment Relations Amendment Bill read more about the Bill here is also at the Select Committee Stage. Submissions for this Bill closed on 30 March 2018 and the report is due on 7 September 2018. After which, the Bill will go onto its Second Reading.
If you have any questions in respect of this process, or how the proposed changes may affect you, feel free to get in touch with one of the team.