On Thursday 27 October, Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke introduced legislation to amend the Fair Work Act. The Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Bill 2022 offers a range of measures meant to address stagnating wages and poor working conditions. Many of these are relevant to carers, such as more robust measures to combat discrimination against women, more workable negotiation structures, and, in particular, an improved framework to allow employees to access flexible working arrangements.
Carers Australia welcomes the shift in policymaking priorities towards the needs of employees. Many carers struggle to participate in the workforce whilst maintaining their care responsibilities, with carers employed at a lower rate than non-carers. For people aged 15-64, only 58.8% of primary carers were in the labour force, compared to 81.5% for people who provided no informal care. 66.8% of carers work less than full-time hours, relying on flexibility to remain available for the often unpredictable demands of caring roles. However, 22.8% of carers had no flexibility, and fewer than half of employed carers reported in the 2022 Carer Wellbeing Survey that they could speak to their supervisor about their care responsibilities whenever they needed to.
If the Bill passes, it will limit the circumstances where an employer can refuse a request for flexibility to situations where the employee and employer have been unable to reach an agreement and the employer has “
