• Minimum hourly rate for casual workers to be increased
• Prohibition on sexual harassment to be enshrined in WA's employment laws
• Right of entry provisions for WA work sites to be amended
• Reforms deliver Cook Government commitments

The Cook Government has introduced the Industrial Relations Legislation Amendment Bill 2024 into State Parliament, to further modernise the State industrial relations system.

The reforms implement the Government's 2021 election commitment to broaden public sector workers' access to the Western Australian Industrial Relations Commission (WAIRC).

The Bill will amend the Minimum Conditions of Employment Act 1993 to increase the loading for casual workers on the minimum wage to 25 percent. This will bring Western Australia into line with the national system.

The reforms will enshrine a prohibition on sexual harassment at work in State employment laws and establish new pathways to resolve sexual harassment disputes.

This legislation also delivers on the Cook Government's commitment to introduce a fit and proper person test for union officials to obtain a State right of entry permit.

Other key provisions of the Bill include:

• establishing a new employee right to request a flexible working arrangement, for example, where the employee is returning from parental leave or is experiencing family and domestic violence;
• amending the Industrial Relations Act 1979 to safeguard against workers being artificially labelled as independent contractors or casual...

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