Fair Work commits to examining part time arrangements in all awards

The Fair Work Commission has committed to examining part-time work in all awards, including those impacting the early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector in 2025, as part of its final report of its 2023-24 Award Review.

The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) has welcomed the commitment, noting that highly feminised sectors such as ECEC are more impacted by the need to have adequate, stable and predictable hours, to help them balance work and care and ensure they can earn enough to make ends meet.  

The case on part-time work will start in 2025, and establish a standard model for part-time employment to be rolled out across all awards.  

The review was initiated in response to the Federal Government introducing new objectives in the Fair Work Act on job security and gender equality, which the opposition opposed at the time.

Awards directly set the terms and conditions for nearly one in four workers, and underpin all content in enterprise agreements, covering an additional one in three workers.

The review examined modern awards relating to four key areas: Arts and Culture, Job Security, Work and Care, and “Ease of use.”

“Unions welcome the Fair Work Commission’s report recognising that Australian workers on awards deserve better,” ACTU President Michele O’Neil said. 

“The cases emerging from this process can pave the way for improved conditions for part-time workers, people who work from home, those on fixed-term contracts and arts workers.”

“Unions want to see roster justice so that working Australians juggling work and family life have a fairer system of hours, rosters and shifts. There is a clear need for better rights so workers can have secure and reliable rosters that accommodate caring responsibilities.”

For more information about the review please see here.