Archived News for Human Resource Professionals

Justice Iain Ross AO has been appointed the new President of Fair Work Australia (FWA), succeeding Justice Geoffrey Giudice who steps down on 29 February. 

Since 2009 Justice Ross has been a Victorian Supreme Court judge and last year became President of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal. He is also Chair of the Council of Australian Tribunals.  He has held positions with the Australian Council of Trade Unions and worked with the law reform commissions in New South Wales and Victoria. From 1994-2006 he was Vice President of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission.  

Concurrent with his FWA appointment, Justice Ross has also been appointed judge of the Federal Court. 

A further six FWA appointments have been made by the Government .  They are: 

Deputy President

Anna Booth - Deputy President based in NSW. Ms Booth is an experienced facilitator, accredited mediator, mentor, trainer and owner/director of CoSolve Pty Ltd which specialises in workplace facilitation and mediation services.  She is also the current non-executive Chair of the board of Slater and Gordon and a member of Industry Super entities.  She has previously held senior positions with Star City and Sydney Harbour Casino as well as the Textile, Clothing and Footwear Union, the Clothing and Allied Trades Union and the ACTU. She has served on various Boards including the Commonwealth Bank from 1990-2000. 

Gregory Smith - Deputy President based in Victoria. A FWA Commissioner since 2009 and a Commissioner of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission since 1989, his previous roles embrace the Confederation of Australian Industry Industrial Council and the Meat and Allied Trades Federation of Australia. He is a Fellow of the Faculty of Business and Economics at Monash University. 

Commissioner

Geoff Bull - Commissioner in NSW.  Currently the Director of Workplace Relations for the Australian Mines and Metals Association, Mr Bull has held legal, policy and managerial positions with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA, BHP Billiton, Goldsworthy Mining and the WA Department of Productivity and Labour Relations. 

David Gregory - Commissioner in Victoria. Mr Gregory has been the Director of Workplace Policy at the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry since 2009.  His previous employers have included the Victorian Employers’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Confederation of Australian Industry, News Limited, and the Victorian Employers’ Federation. 

Bernie Riordan - Commissioner in NSW. Since 1998 he has held positions in NSW with the Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union, and the Electrical Trades Union of Australia. 

General Manager

Bernadette O’Neill - FWA General Manager.  Ms O’Neill has been acting FWA General Manager since September 2011. She was previously Director, Unfair Dismissals, FWA and has occupied a number of senior management and leadership roles with the Victorian Government. Earlier employers include Maurice Blackburn Cashman Lawyers and the Australian Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers Union.

The Victorian Government has announced it will shed hundreds of jobs from the Department of Human Services (DHS), which will form part of the 3,600 jobs that will be cut from the Victorian public service over the next two years.

The Fair Work Ombudsman has released guidance on entitlements and obligations regarding stand-down and redundancy under the Fair Work Act.

A new guide to help textile and clothing manufacturers comply with their legal obligations to workers has been released by labelling and accreditation organisation Ethical Clothing Australia.

The development of the guide is the latest initiative of Ethical Clothing Australia, which aims to help local businesses ensure that Australian workers making their products receive fair wages and work in decent conditions.

Ethical Clothing Australia’s national manager, Simon McRae, hopes the guide will be of practical assistance to the industry and help them to navigate their obligations under the Award.

“Many Australian manufacturers are operating in a difficult economic climate. We believe it’s important to support the businesses that are committed to manufacturing in Australia, and equip them with the tools they need to comply with their legal obligations to Australian workers,” Mr McRae said.

Given many manufacturers in the industry speak Chinese and Vietnamese, the guide to the Award has also been translated into these languages.

The 54 page guide is available free of charge via the Ethical Clothing Australia website; www.ethicalclothingaustralia.org.au

Unfair dismissals has become a key issue of contention in the current review of the Fair Work Act.

Employer groups have expressed unanimity in much of their criticism of the Fair Work Act in submissions to the current Fair Work Act Review.

Migrants have boosted Australia's workforce skills, with two-thirds of all working age migrants possessing academic or trade qualifications in 2010–11, according to a report released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

This is higher than the rate for people born in Australia (66% for migrants, 56% for Australian born).

The proportion of working age migrants who were at least 15 years old when they arrived in Australia and who had already completed a degree has tripled, rising from 15% in the early 1990s to 44% in the last five years.

Overall, 59% of people aged 15–64 years in Australia had a qualification compared with 51% in 2001. 

The unemployment rate in 2010-11 for people without a qualification was around double the rate for those with a qualification (7.3% compared with 3.4%).

When asked about the main impact of their highest qualification on their working life, about one-quarter (26%) said it assisted them in joining the workforce for the first time and 9% said it assisted them in getting a promotion or pay rise; however, 18% said their highest qualification had no impact.

Of the 11.2 million employed people, around half (51%) were working in a field that was relevant to their highest qualification, while 14% believed their qualification was not relevant and about a third (35%) had no qualification. 

Of the 14% of employed people (1.6 million) who reported that their highest qualification was not relevant to their current job, 29% stated this was because they were no longer interested in the field of their highest qualification.

More details are in Learning and Work, Australia, 2010–11 (cat. no. 4235.0).

Australia's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased 0.1 percentage points to 5.1 per cent in January, as announced by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). 

The ABS reported the number of people employed increased by 46,300 to 11,463,900 in January. The increase in employment was driven by increased part-time employment, up 34,000 people to 3,400,800, and an increase in full-time employment, up 12,300 people to 8,063,100. The increase in seasonally adjusted part-time was driven by an increase in female part-time employment whereas the increase full time employment was driven by an increase in male full-time employment. 

The number of people unemployed decreased by 15,300 people to 614,200 in January, the ABS reported.

The ABS monthly aggregate hours worked series showed a decrease in January, down 23.1 million hours to 1,593.9 million hours.

The ABS reported an increase in the labour force participation rate of 0.1 percentage points in January to 65.3 per cent.

Recent reports have compared the annual growth in seasonally adjusted employment level estimates and have suggested 2011 is the year with the lowest employment growth since 1992. This neglects consideration that the growth in population estimates for 2011 was also the lowest in over 10 years. An alternative method of analysis that removes the effect of population growth is to compare average employment to population ratios for each year. In 2011, the employment to population ratio was 62.2%, which is the third highest rate of employment in the last 30 years, up 0.1 percentage points from 2010 and 6.1 percentage points higher than the low in 1992. Further information can be found in this months article 'Employment Level Estimates Versus Employment to Population Explained.' 

The most recent estimate of the seasonally adjusted underemployment rate was 7.3 per cent in November 2011 issue. Combined with November's unemployment rate of 5.3 per cent, the latest estimate of total seasonally adjusted labour force underutilisation was 12.6 per cent. For more information on underemployment and underutilisation, please refer to the article'Understanding Labour Force' which is published every month in Labour Force, Australia (cat. no. 6202.0). 

More details are in the January 2012 issue of Labour Force, Australia (cat. no. 6202.0), as well as the upcoming January 2012 issue of Labour Force, Australia, Detailed (cat. no. 6291.0.55.001) due for release next week on February 23. Both publications are available for free download (after release) from the ABS website - www.abs.gov.au.

The Federal Government has announced the first ever termination of a labour agreement after the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) revoked the rights of a Victorian on-hire company’s right to recruit 457 visa holders.

The Federal Government has introduced legislation before parliament that will require new participation requirements for Disapility Support Pension recipients who have some capacity to work.

Deloitte Access Economics has released a report on the economic cost of sleep disorders in Australia.

The Federal Government has announced $30 million in back pay for social and community services workers in Queensland as new regulations take effect.

Global management consultancy HayGroup has launched a new suite of online solutions for HR professionals and line managers.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has announced a round of voluntary redundancies that will see the agency shed up to 75 positions.

Sydney printing company Wongtas has been fined $20,000  by the Federal Court for discriminating against a pregnant worker by demoting and then sacking her.

Increased casualisation and job insecurity among working households has significantly undermined the housing security of low-to-moderate income home renters and buyers, research at RMIT University has shown.

In a little over a month, the Federal Government’s new Wage Connect Subsidy has seen more than 1000 long term unemployed Australians find work.

Men and women spend similar time undertaking all forms of work (both paid and unpaid) but some mums want more paid work hours according to the Gender Indicators, Australia publication released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

The rate of underemployment is twice as high for women (8%) than for men (4%).

In 2006 dads in full time employment with children under 15 years spent 10 hours 32 minutes a day (on average) in all forms of work, compared with 10 hours 47 minutes for mums employed full time.

New ABS data shows in 2010-11 the underemployment rate for dads whose youngest child was under 6 years was 2.8%, while for mums it was 8.6%. When the youngest child was school-aged, the underemployment rate was much higher for mums at 10.2%. 

In 2010-11 men employed full-time spent 4 hours more per week working in employment than their female counterparts (41.3 compared to 37.2 hours). Mums with children under 6 years and employed full-time worked fewer hours in employment (33.1 hours) but their hours increased when their youngest child was of school age (37.7 hours). Fathers in full time employment worked in employment about the same hours, on average, as did all men employed full time. 

Women also volunteer more than men (38% compared to 34% in 2010). The rate was highest in women aged 45-54 years with school-aged children (10% compared to 3% for men with school-aged children).

The second release of Gender Indicators, Australia, includes new data and commentaries representing the differences between men and women in the major areas of social concern for gender equality. New to this edition, a summary page of the key indicators of gender equality, and interactive graphs showing changes over time.

To see the full range of indicators, and changes over time, see the full online product, Gender Indicators, Australia (cat. no. 4125.0).

Skills Australia has released a discussion paper and called for submissions on the development of a comprehensive workforce development strategy for the Defence materiel supply industries.

Launching the discussion paper, the Minister for Defence Materiel, Senator Kim Carr, said that over the next decade the Australian Government will spend more than $200 billion on the Defence force.

As part of this, the Government is planning a substantial increase in Defence equipment acquisitions across all services, with the most recent Defence Capability Plan including projects or phases of projects valued at approximately $150 billion in current prices.  This acquisition plan includes the Future Submarine Project – expected to be Australia’s largest ever single defence project.

“A skilled workforce will be key to success and the Defence Industry Workforce Strategy plans to better position Australian industry to participate in Defence procurement.”

Last September, the Australian Government asked Skills Australia to work with the Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO) to prepare a comprehensive workforce strategy for the Australian defence materiel supply industries.

 “On average, about 50 to 55 per cent of defence acquisition work (by value) has historically been won by highly competitive Australian-based firms including many small to medium enterprises.  If Australian industry is to continue to be competitive, access to an appropriately skilled workforce will be crucial,” Senator Carr said.

“A steady supply of steelworkers, welders, electricians and mechanics is needed, among many other trades.  And we also need engineers, systems analysts, accountants and specialists in air and marine transport. 

“Defence suppliers can expect to face significant competition for skilled labour from the resources sector and large-scale infrastructure projects including the National Broadband Network.

“This competition for skills could create challenges for the Australian defence industry.  The Paper provides a preliminary, but much needed, assessment of the skills outlook for the Australian defence materiel supply industries.”

It is designed to provoke debate and invite ideas and input from the defence community.  To assist this discussion, public submissions on the Strategy are invited by 5 April, 2012.  The insights gained from these submissions and consultations will form a key input to the final report, which is due in June 2012. 

Senator Carr said he strongly encouraged all to get involved and have a say in the process.

A background paper to this Discussion Paper and information on the public submission process can be found on the Skills Australia web site at www.skillsaustralia.gov.au.

Professor Paula Brough, director of the Social and Organisational Psychology Research Unit cautions that amidst the unabated demand for lucrative mining jobs, those considering flying out to Australia's mine sites may not be aware of the potential psychological risk to their health.


Recently released data by the Australian Bureau of Statistics indicates that while total job positions have fallen by 181,000, mining jobs are massively in demand across Australia. Meanwhile, the industry's investment pipeline has projects worth around $900 billion, with economists expecting that to improve further this year.


Professor Brough said that the financial rewards of working in these environments are a strong draw for many,  but there are many cases of people, who after a period of time, have found that the disadvantages can outweigh the benefits.


"Often employers on the traditional fly-in fly-out rosters can suffer from feelings of isolation in being so far away from their family and everyday community. They often lack the support of their usual networks, daily routines and daily contact with their families.


"Likewise the partners and families of mining sector workers can have similar negative feelings, with wives often having to care for children alone and children missing out on frequent contact with one of their parents."


Although no specific research has so far been conducted by the Griffith Unit, Professor Brough said she had heard via third parties, of the negative emotional toll that this type of employment can take. 


"It seems that the two year mark is a significant benchmark when the situation starts to wear on employees and they decide the financial gain is not worth the emotional strain. Quality of life seems to win the day in the end for a lot of stressed workers."