Employment Point-in-Time Service Updates

The Employment Point-in-Time Service has been updated to include the Federal Court Legislation Amendment Rules 2024 (Cth), the Paid Parental Leave Amendment (More Support for Working Families) Rules 2024 (Cth), the Fair Work Amendment (Unpaid Parental Leave) Regulations 2024 (Cth), and the Fair Work Amendment (Fixed Term Contracts) Regulations 2024 (Cth). 

Federal Court Legislation Amendment Rules 2024

The Rules make minor and procedural amendments to various Federal Court rules including the Federal Court Rules 2011 (Cth). The amendments aim to ensure the right to a fair and timely trial and also:

• ensure an effective application process in relation to allegations of sexual harassment under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth);
• extend, consolidate and clarify the powers that registrars may exercise pursuant to a direction of the Chief Justice or a Judge of the Court;
• improve existing mechanisms for applications under the Trans-Tasman Proceedings Act 2010 (Cth), service outside Australia, and for proceedings under the Patents Act 1990 (Cth) and the Trade Marks Act 1995 (Cth);
• provide for an increase in the costs allowable for work done and services performed consistent with the recommendations of the 16th Report of the Joint Cost Advisory Committee, effectively increasing the costs recoverable by a successful party.

Paid Parental Leave Amendment (More Support for Working Families) Rules 2024

The Rules amend the Paid Parental Leave Rules 2021 (Cth) including by:

• updating references to the maximum number of concurrent Paid Parental Leave (PPL) days, in accordance with the increased maximum allowed by the Amendment Act;
• introducing an additional prescribed condition by which a partnered claimant is not subject to the reserved period when two or more children are born as part of the same birth and any of those children is stillborn or has died;
• introducing an additional prescribed condition by which a partnered claimant is not subject to the reserved period when two or more children are born as part of the same birth and any of those children:
• were required to remain in hospital for or are likely to remain in hospital for a period of at least 18 weeks; or
• has developed a complication or illness during gestation or immediately following the birth which requires higher care needs and medical care or treatment for a period of at least 18 weeks;
• introducing a prescribed condition for claimants for children born because of a surrogacy arrangement.

Fair Work Amendment (Unpaid Parental Leave) Regulations 2024

These regulations amend the Fair Work Regulations 2009 (Cth) to prescribe the entitlement to flexible unpaid parental leave under subsection 72A(1) of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth).

Fair Work Amendment (Fixed Term Contracts) Regulations 2024

These regulations amend the Fair Work Regulations 2009 (Cth) (the Principal Regulations) as follows:

• for organised sports and high performance international event sporting bodies, funding by non-government philanthropic entities, and the live performance industry, it extends the Principal Regulations to include contracts entered into on or after 6 December 2023 and before 1 November 2025. This would allow industry and employee representative bodies to reach agreement and propose future amendments to the Principal Regulations;
• for higher education, it extends the Principal Regulations to include contracts entered into on or after 6 December 2023 and before 1 January 2025. This would allow industry and employee representative bodies to reach agreement on appropriate and necessary amendments to the relevant awards so the modern awards exception in paragraph 333F(1)(h) of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) would apply.

These amendments have been updated in the Point-in-Time Employment Service current to 4 July 2024. (Note: Subscription required).

If you are not already a subscriber to this or other Point-in-Time Services then please contact us to find out more or to take a free trial.