28 Jul 2022
Latest apprenticeship data
In good news, there were 349,235 apprentices and trainees in-training as at December 31, 2021, 16.8 per cent higher than at the same time in 2020 and only slightly lower than at the end of the September quarter 2021.
Completions were up 20.2 per cent from December 2020, this is a strong result and shows the value that apprentices invested in their chosen field inclined to complete their training during COVID.
More information here.
Unfair Contract Terms
This week the government announced that it will deliver on its election commitment on unfair contract terms with legislation to be introduced during this sitting fortnight. We have not seen the legislation just yet but it most likely is very similar to the legislation that was previously introduced.
The government states that the legislation will introduce fines for use of or reliance of unfair contract terms, allowing the regulation to seek a civil penalty from the court. The small business threshold will increase to 100 employees and introduce an annual turnover threshold of less than $10 million, more information here.
Jobs and Skills Australia
On Wednesday the first piece of legislation introduced by the new government was the Jobs and Skills Australia Bill 2022, and the bill to repeal the National Skills Commissioner, see here.
ACCI has had numerous meetings with the Minister’s office where we were briefed and had a chance to comment on the legislation before it was introduced.
The second stage of establishing JSA will follow the Jobs and Skills Summit, and we are already in detailed discussions with the ACTU and AiGroup with formal consultations from August.
26/07/2024
Modern Awards – Casual Employment Term Last week, the Fair Work Commission President, Justice Hatcher, made a statement announcing proceedings on the Commission’s own initiative to determine...
19/07/2024
Modern Awards Review The Fair Work Commission published its report on the Modern Awards Review 2023-24 yesterday, along with a statement from Fair Work Commission President, Justice Adam Hatcher,...
19/07/2024
Small Business Survey The Small Business Committee met this week, and members received a briefing on the results of the Small Business Survey ahead of...
19/07/2024
There is still time to join the next ACCI Trade Policy Committee on 1 August, at 2:00 pm AEST, featuring special guest speaker George Mina. ...
19/07/2024
Sustainable Aviation Fuel submission Australian Chamber - Tourism made a submission to the government's consultation on low-carbon liquid fuels this week. The submission outlines the...
19/07/2024
Apprenticeship Incentives Review The 'What We Heard' summary paper from the Strategic Review of the Australian Apprenticeship Incentive System was released this week. The critical...
19/07/2024
Unemployment rate slightly up Labour force statistics released this week highlight that the unemployment rate increased slightly from 4 per cent in May to 4.1 per cent...
12/07/2024
Right to Disconnect The President of the Fair Work Commission, Justice Adam Hatcher, has published a statement and the draft modern award term for the...
12/07/2024
ACCI Trade Committee Meeting The next ACCI Trade Policy Committee will feature special guest speaker George Mina, followed by a short Q&A session. George is...
12/07/2024
Upcoming forum meeting The Data, Digital & Cyber (DDC) Forum will hold a meeting on Wednesday 17th July from 10:30am to 12pm AEST. Please contact Ross Creelman for more information.
12/07/2024
Upcoming committee meeting The next meeting of the Small Business Committee will be held online on Friday, 19 July from 10:30 am-11:30 AEST. The meeting...
12/07/2024
Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations Tony Burke has endorsed ACCI's nomination of Jennifer Low, director of health, safety, resilience, and digital policy, to the...
12/07/2024
Productivity Commission report on economic mobility The Productivity Commission report on economic mobility released this week shows that, on average, Australia’s long-term economic growth has led...
12/07/2024
New NCVER data release: Government-funded students and courses 2023 According to the recent National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) release, an estimated 7.1 per cent...
5/07/2024
ACCI Trade Committee Meeting Join us at the next ACCI Trade Committee on Thursday, 1 August, at 2:00 pm AEST. This meeting will feature a...
5/07/2024
Payment times reforms pass Amendments to the Payment Times Reporting Act 2020 passed Parliament this week. The amendments implement recommendations made through the Statutory Review conducted by Dr Craig...
5/07/2024
Engineered stone ban is now in effect The prohibition on the manufacture, supply, processing and installation of engineered stone benchtops, panels and slabs commenced on...
5/07/2024
Nature Positive Bill introduced The Nature Positive Bill was introduced to Parliament this week. This Bill establishes a new Environment Protection Agency (EPA) responsible for...
5/07/2024
Future Made in Australia The Future Made in Australia Bill 2024 and Future Made in Australia (Omnibus Amendments No. 1) Bill 2024 was tabled in...
5/07/2024
Changes from 1 July From 1 July (last Monday) a series of changes have taken place in the workplace relations system. Employers must be aware...