Ellen Hooper 🎤

The effectiveness of enterprise bargaining often depends on careful and strategic preparation. From assessing the viability of bargaining to identifying potential conflicts, use these expert tips to lay the groundwork for successful negotiations.

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A recently passed law means employers now have higher liability risk for sexual harassment litigation costs. Last week the Federal Government passed another employment law change, which significantly increases the risk that employers will be liable for costs orders in sexual harassment litigation. The Australian Human Rights Commission Amendment (Costs Protection) Bill now outlines that respondents – often employers – will be liable for the legal costs of a claimant in a sexual harassment claim under the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) – even if only one element, not all, of their claim is successful.  The critical thing employers can do to avoid claims is proactively address sexual harassment in the workplace and comply with the positive duty.  Taking all reasonable and proportionate measures to eliminate the risk of sexual harassment will ensure employers have a sound defence to claims that they are vicariously or accessorily liable for sexual harassment that occurs at their workplace.  The following steps can be taken as part of a tailored approach, which will be unique for each employer:     1. Identifying and consistently reviewing risks and implementing measures to eliminate or minimise those risks. 2. Conducting training at all levels of employees and leaders throughout the organisation about lawful and expected standards of behaviour. 3. Ensuring robust policies, procedures and complaint mechanisms are in place. 4. Handling complaints appropriately, including conducting investigations where appropriate (and under legal professional privilege if possible). Read more - https://buff.ly/3Bciokr

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New Leave Entitlements Bill alert! The Minister announced a timeframe for the Leave Entitlements Bill (to replace the Holidays Act). An exposure draft will be available for targeted consultation in September 2024. Specifics are available in the post below but key things are: - pro-rating sick leave; - moving from a weeks-based entitlement system to a weeks-based accrual system for annual leave; and - simpler methodologies for calculating use of leave. Duncan Cotterill #holidaysact #employmentlaw #hr

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Closing Loopholes Last updated 12 April 2024 There have been changes to the Fair Work Act as part of the new ‘Closing Loopholes’ laws. This section provides more information about the changes and when they start. Key points The Australian Government passed new workplace laws as part of its ‘Closing Loopholes’ legislation. Employers, employees and others should stay across these changes as they may impact their workplace. The changes take effect at different times between December 2023 and August 2025. Some changes affect the work we (the Fair Work Ombudsman) do. Other changes affect the work of the Fair Work Commission (the Commission). The Commission is the national workplace relations tribunal and registered organisations regulator. We are currently reviewing our general website information and tools and resources, and are preparing updates. You can access a visual snapshot summarising the changes and listing the key start dates. https://lnkd.in/gn4mZ_-y

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🍻 Pub Testing the NDIS Bill: Does the Government’s commitment to duty of care pass the test? 🚨 Content Warning 🚨 ⚠️ This video series discusses scenarios potentially leading to the preventable deaths of people with disabilities, including by suicide. Viewer discretion is advised. The Government is encouraged to respond meaningfully to our concerns.⚠️ 💡Part 1 of 6: “One Does Not Simply Manifest A Debt”💡 This unscripted discussion addresses some of the things keeping disability advocates Uli Cartwright and Cat Walker up at night, and some of the concerns we covered in our submissions to the two Senate inquiries on the NDIS Bill which have not yet been addressed at the time of publication. Forgive the lack of introduction... It had been a long day. We start from a discussion of the difficulty government officials seem to have understanding that debts against NDIS participants cannot exist unless somebody makes a judgement that they have misspent their funds. Participants and their families will understand how subjective that is, but do the general public? Does the Government? The remaining segments will unpack more about everything wrong with not having review rights for a determination that a participant has misused NDIS funds, including the potentially devastating consequences of vulnerable individuals receiving a government debt notice, as our submission co-author Kath Madgwick knows all too well. Targeted review rights for how a participant has spent their plan – and on what – are not only basic procedural fairness, but would also enforce a person-centred lens on determinations potentially resulting in a debt being raised. External scrutiny of that process is critical to ensure participants are not punished for failure of the Agency to provide appropriate support tailored to that individual's needs. We hope NDIS Minister Bill Shorten is listening. We hope the wider community is, too. (Bill Shorten might also like to unblock Uli on here.) Daniel White David Pocock Jordon Steele-John Jacqui Lambie Dr George Taleporos (GAICD, PhD) Sam Paior JP, MAICD Corri McKenzie Naomi Anderson Chris Coombes Katy Gagliardi Belinda Kochanowska Georgia van Toorn National Legal Aid Australian Lawyers Alliance Villamanta Disability Rights Legal Service Victoria Legal Aid Annie Crowe ♿️♾️ ⭐️ Marayke Jonkers PLY (MAICD ) Samantha Connor William Ward-Boas Jarrod Sandell-Hay Helen Dickinson Graeme Innes AM Jenny Karavolos El Gibbs Sophie Cusworth Ellen Gould Naomi Colville Jess Harper Louise Glanville The Australian Neurodivergent Parents Association Mark Pietsch

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There is no place for gendered violence. Are you respect @ work ready? The positive duty requires a focus on #prevention, not just #response. It’s a shift from zero tolerance to zero harm. “What we constantly hear when we meet with workplace sexual harassment victims is that ‘there is not enough evidence’ to prove guilt to a criminal standard in court. But this finding shows that our understanding of sexual harassment is becoming more nuanced, which should assist in creating a fairer justice system. The landscape in Australian workplaces is also changing. Last year’s introduction of a positive duty requirement on employers in the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) means businesses and organisations are legally obliged to take proactive and meaningful steps to prevent unlawful conduct from occurring. The Federal Court ruling is the latest statement that there is no place for such conduct, and no woman needs to put up with it.” Anna Cody #metoo #stoptheviolence #zeroharm #respect@work

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👏[Perpetrator facing in WA systems response] What a positive step forward in perpetrator visibility and accountability for WA. Repeat and high-risk family violence offenders will be tracked across the justice system, including as part of bail, sentence, parole and post-sentence supervision, following the passage of new laws through State Parliament. The family violence perpetrators captured by the new laws include those: ➡️ subject to a family violence restraining order (FVRO) and subsequently accused or convicted of a further family violence offence; ➡️ subject to a serial family violence offender declaration who are accused or convicted of a family violence offence; and ➡️ who are subject to an FVRO and released from prison under an early release order or a post-sentence supervision order for a family violence offence. The new laws also establish new offences related to the operation of electronic monitoring, which are punishable by imprisonment for up to 3 years and a fine of up to $36,000. It is now an offence for a person subject to EM: ➡️ fail to wear an approved EM device; ➡️ fail to permit the installation of an approved EM device at the place where the offender resides or at any other specified place; ➡️ fail to charge the approved EM device to ensure the device is always operational; and ➡️ enter an exclusion zone without reasonable excuse. Thankyou to the Cook government for pursuing such a crucial step towards perpetrator visibility and accountability. We must now ensure our responders and in particular corrections, police officers, prosecutors and magistrates are equipped to identify patterns of behaviour and microaggressions regardless of the type of form of abuse and breach to order to ensure full accountability. DART Institute Australia Inc are the only dedicated family violence specialist training provider in WA and call for the government to fund our crucial services. Mark Dreyfus Sabine Winton MLA Paul Papalia Roger Cook

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Jason Clare MP and Mark Dreyfus have just announced that the Anthony Albanese Government has today introduced legislation to establish an independent National Student Ombudsman to investigate #student #complaints and resolve disputes with #universities.   It forms part of the Action Plan to address gender-based violence in higher education, agreed to by Education Ministers earlier this year. The joint media release reads: Not enough has been done to address sexual violence in our universities, and for too long, students haven't been heard. The 2021 National Student Survey shows one in 20 students have been sexually assaulted since they started university and one in six have been sexually harassed. One in two have felt like they weren't heard when they made a complaint. The Ombudsman will allow all higher education students to escalate complaints about the actions of their higher education provider, including complaints about sexual assault and sexual harassment. The role of the Ombudsman will include: considering whether decisions and actions taken by providers are unreasonable, unjust, oppressive, discriminatory or otherwise wrong responding to a complaint while a provider is still considering the issue if there are unreasonable delays, or the provider is acting unreasonably recommending a provider takes specific steps to resolve the complaint sharing information with relevant regulators for further compliance action if needed, and offering a restorative engagement process between the student and the provider. The Ombudsman will have strong investigative powers including requiring a person or university to provide information. A National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence will also be established. Addressing sexual assault and sexual harassment in universities was one of five priority actions from the Australian Universities Accord Interim Report. Subject to the passage of legislation, the independent National Student Ombudsman will start taking complaints from 1 February 2025. #NationalStudentOmbudsman #NSO #Ombudsman #Violence #HigherEducation #education

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It’s no secret that quality disability service providers are struggling since this year's pricing decision, with many in crisis mode. The proposal for a tiered system of registration for disability support makes sense. But registered high quality providers need to be fairly compensated or they will face a huge financial disadvantage. Pricing that recognises the added costs of quality must be part of the new system. This is for the NDIS participants' sake too. No one wants to see vulnerable participants struggling to find decent support because high quality providers can’t afford to take them on and provide the standard of care they deserve. I wrote last year about the need for a differential pricing system for disability supports here: https://lnkd.in/gFfP8GcB #4abetterndis

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Telling any disabled person what is and is not an NDIS support removes the flexibility and adaptability that is needed to support individual participants. Every disabled person is different. A support that is not need for one might be life changing for another. This is Government red tape at its finest. 🤦🏻‍♀️ The solution to the BIG problems with #NDIS right now is not micromanaging supports. 👉 It’s cracking down on dodgy providers. 👉 It’s educating NDIA (and extended) support staff to understand the diversity within disability. 👉 It’s speeding up access and reviews! 👉 It’s providing more guidance to LACs, plan managers and support coordinators to adequately provide support for their NDIS clients. It’s so much more than creating more red tape and removing the flexibility and autonomy needed by people with disability. 🤷🏻‍♀️ #DoBetter #DisabilityRights #SaveOurNDIS #Disability #Accessibility #Autonomy

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Jobs and Skills Australia just published a capacity study on the workforce needs of Australia’s #EarlyChildhood Education and Care (#ECEC) sector. 👏You can read it here. https://lnkd.in/dez4effZ It confirms a dire need for skilled workers. While #skilledmigration is not the answer, it is part of the answer. 🧩 🤝 - At present childcare workers (Cert/Diploma qualified ) cannot be sponsored on work visas, unless via a special agreement, usually a labour agreement. It’s expensive and ….laborious! - 🏁new sponsorship laws flagged to come in end 2024, under the #migration #strategy (the core skills stream) will rely on occupation lists (the CSOL) informed by Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA). - The occupation child care worker is NOT on JSA’s ‘confident’ on list 🟢, but rather the ‘unsure list’ ie the ‘for further consultation’ 🟠 When will the visa program be more responsive to childcare workers and childcare businesses, to give them the certainty to operate, and operate well? After all, we Australians are the beneficiaries of a healthy ECEC sector. Will child care workers get the green light 🟢to be on the CSOL under the new visa program? Will childcare businesses get the green light to operate well? 🟢☘️ A post for all our childcare clients! We hear you! #childcare #earlychildhood #teaching #visas #immigration

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Recidivism in youth crime and domestic violence is at an all-time high in Queensland, yet small businesses like Reconcile Life, focused on real change, have always struggled to get support from the State Government. Reconcile Life has developed a culturally relevant, inclusive behavioral change program to help break this cycle, but without backing from those in power, our community suffers. Thankfully, backing has always come from local passionate organizations like Daly Bay Coal Terminal, DBCT Infrastructure and funding from NIAA. Why aren’t community-based solutions and services like Reconcile Life not being prioritized? At this next state election, I ask that you question your candidates about how they're going to push for real change and support services at a grass roots level that make a difference. What do you think?" www.reconcilelife.com.au

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Do your employees and managers have the #skills and #confidence to address issues in a #proactive way? If not, they would benefit from the guidance of our Advisers at Ombpoint. They use your policy frameworks and their deep expertise to guide your employees in navigating #difficultconversations, often reducing the need for formal #investigations.

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The recent announcement of a 3.19% increase in the NDIS price guide brings mixed feelings, especially when juxtaposed with the SCHADS award increase of 3.75%, alongside an additional 0.5% increase for support, rising Fair Work costs, payroll tax in which is not considered or thought about and other allowances suitably paid to ensure education aged compliant staffing is possible. This disparity raises critical questions about sustainability for NDIS providers who strive to deliver quality supports. How can we maintain high standards of care and support when the financial framework doesn’t align with the operational realities? The NDIS sector is at a crucial juncture. Providers, advocates, and stakeholders must come together to address these pressing issues. We need innovative solutions, advocacy for fair funding models, and stronger support networks to ensure that quality services remain accessible to those who need them most. What can we do collectively to bridge this gap? How can we ensure that providers aren't forced to compromise on the quality of care due to financial constraints? Your insights and ideas are invaluable as we navigate this challenging landscape. Let’s start a conversation on how we can better support each other and the NDIS community. #NDIS #SupportServices #QualityCare #FairFunding #CommunitySupport #Advocacy #DisabilityServices

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I’ll have more to say on the NDIS bill inquiry in the coming days, but after listening to today’s (too-short, last-minute) hearing, knowing the Government blocked attempts to extend the reporting date when some submissions are still to be published, so few have been heard, and the best of them are saying there is still too much work on amendments to be done to rush it through... ...this is still exactly how it feels watching Bill Shorten drive this freight train of a bill through Parliament without proper consultation, an exposure draft, or even a long enough Senate inquiry to hear directly from the people this legislation will harm the most. Hitting pause to ensure our voices are heard and primary legislation is co-designed in close collaboration between participants and the legal experts we’ve heard from ≠ “kicking the can down the road.” It’s safeguarding. It’s due diligence. It’s how the Government can demonstrate compliance with Article 4(3) of the #CRPD. Not by driving a freight train through our lives and our human rights, and leaving the disability community and our families to pick up the pieces. As Jenny Karavolos said today, it’s a leap of faith that is too far and too great. Or as Darren O'Donovan said in May, it invokes trust on an extraordinary level. How is that fair when the trust is not there, because the Government broke it, and keeps breaking it with the agenda to push this through on their timeline, regardless of what we say? When the community was not been trusted with an exposure draft and adequate consultation time to work through all the amendments we still need? This is exactly what the leap the Government is asking participants to take feels like, as a participant: “Getting the NDIS back on track” by asking us to lay down on the tracks. (Oh, yeah: Friendly reminder that EIGHT hearings were held for Independent Assessments. We’ve had 2.5 on this bill.) Villamanta Disability Rights Legal Service Public Interest Advocacy Centre Australian Lawyers Alliance Australian Autism Alliance Disability Advocacy Network Australia (DANA) Ltd Women With Disabilities Australia (WWDA) Marielle Smith Louise Pratt Hollie Hughes Linda Reynolds Maria Kovacic Office of Senator Jordon Steele-John Naomi Anderson Mitchell Skipsey Sheetal Balakrishnan El Gibbs Sophie Cusworth Belinda Kochanowska Kieran Pender National Legal Aid Corri McKenzie Dr George Taleporos (GAICD, PhD) Sam Paior JP, MAICD Nick Avery Uli Cartwright Katy Gagliardi William Ward-Boas Samantha Connor

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A book recommendation for the torts law nerd... Gideon Haigh The Brilliant Boy - Doc Evatt and the great Australian Dissent Haigh covers Evatts early life, his rapid rise in the legal profession, his political career and his time as a high court judge. Central to Haigh’s portrait of Evatt is the case of Max Chester, an immigrant child who drowned in 1937. Evatt’s dissenting judgment marked a critical moment in Australian law and its approach to psychological trauma. Max and Pesa Chester spent hours searching for their lost child. Eventually, she witnessed his lifeless body being recovered from an unprotected council trench. She suffered what the law then called ‘nervous shock’, but today known as post-traumatic stress disorder. The book provided an opportunity for me to reminisce about the joys of studying torts law. The reminders about some of the more infamous cases will result in some legal history-inspired LEGO builds! I discovered this book through my subscription to Haigh's sub-stack and podcast Cricket Et Al. In his regular newsletter, Ten Things, Haigh posted a touching tribute to Esther Trichter, the daughter of Max and Pesa Chester. Esther was among a crowd of onlookers on that awful day. Surprisingly, another of Haigh's newsletters promoted the virtues of MAFS - a veiled slight at his prior employer, The Australian, and conservative subscribers. I haven't gone near that series yet and have no plans to... #MAFS #bookrecommendation #goodread #law #legalhistory

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