In the fifth episode of our Industrious Conversations series, Ashurst’s Jane Harvey and Elissa Speight explain how Closing The Loophole changes are strengthening protections for workers who are not employees, and extending the scope of the Fair Work Commission to intervene in workforce matters.

As Jane and Elissa point out, the reforms impact independent contractor arrangements in several ways. Their conversation highlights changes relating to the classification of a worker as an employee or contractor, the introduction of a new unfair contract terms jurisdiction, and changes to the defences available where a sham contracting claim is made.

Jane and Elissa also outline how the changes may impact employers and suggest several practical ways employers can respond to these changes. This includes thoroughly reviewing contractor engagements, updating contract templates, training managers to mitigate the risk of misclassification under the new framework, and more.

To hear further episodes in Industrious Conversations, our series on Australian industrial relations, subscribe to Ashurst Legal Outlook on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred podcast platform.

The information provided is not intended to be a comprehensive review of all developments in the law and practice, or to cover all aspects of those referred to. Listeners should take legal advice before applying it to specific issues or transactions.