The Employment Relations Amendment Act 2026 enacted on 21 February 2026 introduced significant changes to the remedies available to employees bringing employment claims. But what happens to cases that are already before the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) or Employment Court?
Here is what you need to know.
The Legislation Act 2019 lays down a number of general principles regarding the interpretation of statute law, including a rule that the amendment or repeal of legislation does not affect existing rights incurred before the amendment took effect. The ‘old’ law continues to have effect for the purposes of completing proceedings that are already afoot. In plain terms, this means that when Parliament changes the law, it generally does so for the future - not for the past. This is not a new idea, but rather, reflects a longstanding principle of fairness: people should be able to rely on the rules that existed when events occurred, rather than having the goalposts shifted mid-game.
However, this default rule can be displaced where specifically modified within a statute. Often there are transitional provisions which outline how a change in law will apply, such as with regard to current proceedings.
The Employment Relations Amendment Act 2026 introduces new remedy provisions and inserts new transitional provisions into Schedule 1AA....
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