Industrial Legislation in 2010

Two themes in legislative activity in 2010 were national uniformity and some movement in using law to promote equality, especially gender equality. The Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) came into full effect with the commencement of the new safety net provisions and the referral to the Commonwealth of industrial relations powers over private-sector workforces in all states except Western Australia. Progress continued on the promised harmonization of Australian occupational health and safety laws with the release of a model Work Health and Safety Bill by Safe Work Australia, although developments in some states threaten to derail the process. An attempt to repeal most of the industry-specific regulation of the building and construction industry failed. The Federal Parliament passed legislation establishing a national paid parental leave scheme, and a number of changes to federal discrimination laws came into effect or were proposed, including the potential consolidation of federal discrimination legislation. This article provides an overview of these developments at federal level and concludes with a discussion of developments in the states including a brief overview of Victoria's new equal opportunity legislation.