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The Secure Jobs and Better Pay Act, which delivered major amendments to the Fair Work Act, passed Federal Parliament in December 2022. Clause 4 of that Act required the Minister of Workplace Relations to commence a review of the legislation within two years and for the Final Report of the Review to be submitted to the Minister within six months. Professors Mark Bray & Alison Preston submitted a Draft Report at the end of January 2025 and a Final Report on 30 March 2025. This Final Report was tabled in the Senate and made available to the public on 14 August (see: Review of the Secure Jobs, Better Pay Act - Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, Australian Government). The aim of this seminar is to reflect on the Review and the contents of the Final Report. It will begin with a presentation by Prof Bray, summarising the procedure of the Review and the substance of the Final Report. This will then be followed by an extensive Q&A session, allowing attendees to explore the wide range of topics covered by the SJBP amendments.
PRESENTERMark Bray held the Foundation Chair in Employment Studies at the University of Newcastle from January 1997 until his retirement in early 2021, when he was appointed Emeritus Professor. He is also Honorary Professor at the University of Sydney and RMIT. In these capacities, he has continued researching. Apart from his extensive publications in Industrial Relations, he has published several papers in the Australian Journal of Labour Law, both solely and jointly with Professors Shae McCrystal and Andrew Stewart. From the beginning of October 2024 until the end of March 2025, Mark served with Professor Alison Preston as the Independent Panel reviewing the Secure Jobs, Better Pay Act (Cth).
EVENT CHAIRNate Burke is the President of the Australian Labour and Employment Relations Association, Immediate Past President of the Industrial Relations Society of Queensland, and a member of the Australian Labour Law Association. Nate holds a Master of Laws, Bachelors of Laws and Business, and is currently completing an Executive Masters of Public Administration with the Australia and New Zealand School of Government and the Australian National University. Nate is a senior advisor in the Commonwealth Department of Employment and Workplace Relations and, for his sins, lead the Taskforce that supported Emeritus Professor Mark Bray and Professor Alison Preston conduct the Secure Jobs, Better Pay Review.
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The Federal Court’s decision in Lattouf v Australian Broadcasting Corporation (No 2) is one of only a handful of cases which have explored the reach of the protection of an employee’s right to hold and express a political opinion under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). In this ALLA webinar, one of Ms Lattouf’s barristers Philip Boncardo will explain the legal arguments which enabled his client to succeed in this case, and the implications of the decision for employees wishing to express political views which may conflict with the interests or preferences of their employer in future. Dr Jacqueline Meredith will also consider the implications of the Lattouf case, situating the decision in the context of broader questions relating to the dividing line between an employee’s “private” life and conduct entering into the “public” domain which employers increasingly seek to control. The webinar will be chaired by ALLA President, Anthony Forsyth.
PRESENTERS
Philip Boncardo is a barrister at Wardell Chambers in Sydney. He practices primarily in employment and industrial, administrative and criminal law. Philip studied Arts/Law at Sydney University and then worked as the tipstaff to Justice Paul Brereton. Before coming to the bar, Philip worked as a national legal officer for the CFMEU and, before that, as a solicitor in regional New South Wales. Philip has appeared in a number of significant employment and industrial law cases including TWU v Qantas, ABCC v Pattinson, Helensburgh Coal v Bartley, CFMMEU v ABCC (The Bay Street Appeal), MEU v BHP; re Goonyella Riverside Mine, Deliveroo v Franco and Gupta v Portier Pacific Pty Ltd.
Dr Jacqueline Meredith is a Lecturer in law at Swinburne Law School, Swinburne University of Technology. She researches across the areas of employment law and work health and safety law. Jacqueline completed her PhD in 2024 at Melbourne Law School’s Centre for Employment and Labour Relations Law. Her doctoral research examined the division between work and non-work across different areas of labour law and considered the theoretical and normative basis for properly distinguishing between work-related and private conduct.
alla@austlabourlaw.asn.au
Australian Labour Law Association
