Sustainability-related Regulations Database

This legislation establishes a comprehensive and nationally consistent framework for ensuring the health and safety of workers and workplaces. Its primary goal is to protect individuals from harm by mandating the elimination or minimisation of risks arising from work. It defines clear duties of care for businesses, their officers, and workers, as well as those managing workplaces or supplying plant and substances. The framework emphasizes mandatory consultation, representation, and cooperation on health and safety issues, alongside requirements for incident notification and authorization for certain activities. Regulators are empowered to monitor compliance, investigate, and enforce standards through notices, undertakings, and legal proceedings. The legislation promotes ongoing improvement in safety practices and fosters national harmonization of work health and safety laws.

This legislation establishes a balanced framework for cooperative and productive workplace relations across Australia, aiming to promote national economic prosperity and social inclusion. It provides fair and flexible workplace laws that advance job security, gender equality, productivity, and economic growth. A guaranteed safety net of minimum terms and conditions is ensured through national employment standards, modern awards, and national minimum wage orders. The law protects against unfair individual employment agreements and extends minimum standards to regulated digital platform and road transport workers. It supports work-life balance through flexible arrangements, upholds freedom of association, prevents discrimination, and facilitates enterprise-level collective bargaining with clear rules. Effective dispute resolution and compliance mechanisms are central to achieving fairness and productivity, with consideration for the specific circumstances of small and medium-sized businesses.

This legislation establishes the Australian Human Rights Commission to promote and protect human rights and equal opportunity, with a particular focus on employment. It empowers the Commission to inquire into and conciliate complaints of unlawful discrimination and acts inconsistent with human rights. The Commission actively promotes public understanding through research and educational programs, and advises the government on human rights laws and compliance with international instruments. Additionally, it addresses systemic unlawful discrimination and enforces a positive duty related to sex discrimination, including issuing compliance notices. The legislation grants the Commission powers to obtain necessary information for its functions and outlines processes for redress in discrimination cases, while prohibiting interference with its work or victimisation of those who cooperate.

This legislation seeks to eliminate discrimination based on age across a wide range of areas, including employment, education, access to premises, and the provision of goods, services, and accommodation. It aims to ensure everyone has equal rights under the law, regardless of age, and promotes the full participation of all age groups in society. The law prohibits both direct and indirect age discrimination, as well as victimisation against those who assert their rights. It also outlaws publishing discriminatory advertisements. While establishing broad prohibitions, the legislation includes provisions for certain justified exemptions, such as those for genuine benefits provided to specific age groups or for differentiation based on sound actuarial or statistical data in areas like superannuation or insurance. Ultimately, it works to remove barriers and challenge negative stereotypes, particularly for older individuals in the workforce, fostering a more inclusive community.

This legislation aims to prevent age discrimination and foster equality across all age groups. It prohibits both direct and indirect age-based discrimination in areas such as employment, education, access to services, accommodation, and public programs. The framework promotes equal rights for everyone, while also permitting appropriate benefits and assistance for specific age groups. A key focus is on removing barriers and negative stereotypes to increase older people's participation in society and the workforce. It outlines specific unlawful acts, provides general exemptions for justified age-based distinctions, and establishes the Australian Human Rights Commission, including an Age Discrimination Commissioner, to oversee its implementation, promote understanding, and address compliance.

This legislation establishes a comprehensive framework to prohibit racial discrimination and related acts across Australia. Its primary purpose is to ensure equality before the law and protect human rights for all individuals, irrespective of their race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin. The law makes it unlawful to engage in acts of distinction, exclusion, or restriction that nullify or impair human rights and fundamental freedoms. Specifically, it prohibits discrimination in various aspects of public life, including access to places, land, goods, and services, as well as in employment and trade unions. The legislation also outlaws discriminatory advertisements, incitement to unlawful acts, and offensive public behaviour motivated by racial hatred. It includes provisions for vicarious liability, holding employers accountable for discriminatory actions by their employees or agents. Furthermore, the framework promotes understanding, tolerance, and friendship among diverse groups through educational initiatives and research, while providing for the administration of its provisions.

This legislation aims to prevent and eliminate discrimination and harassment across various areas of public life, including work, education, housing, and services. It specifically targets discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, intersex status, marital or relationship status, pregnancy, breastfeeding, and family responsibilities. The law also prohibits sexual harassment, sex-based harassment, hostile workplace environments, and victimisation. It places a positive duty on employers and businesses to take proactive, reasonable, and proportionate measures to eliminate these forms of unlawful conduct. The legislation supports international human rights principles by promoting the recognition and acceptance of equality between men and women, working towards achieving substantive equality. It also outlines enforcement functions for a human rights commission to ensure compliance and understanding.

A national framework is established to protect workers and other individuals from harm, ensuring safe work environments and practices. It outlines primary duties of care for businesses, officers, and workers, including provisions for industrial manslaughter offences. The framework mandates immediate incident notification, requires authorisations for specific work, and promotes consultation, representation, and participation through health and safety representatives and committees. It grants regulators powers to monitor compliance, enforce standards, and issue penalties. Additionally, it facilitates a silica worker register and requires suitable accommodation for rural workers, prohibiting discriminatory conduct and insurance for penalties, all while aiming for continuous improvement in workplace safety.

This legislation establishes a nationally consistent framework to ensure the health and safety of workers and workplaces. It aims to protect individuals from harm by requiring businesses, their officers, and workers to eliminate or minimise risks arising from work. The Act mandates primary duties of care for all parties, covering workplace management, plant, substances, and structures. Key provisions include requirements for incident notification, necessary authorisations, and extensive consultation and cooperation with workers, including through health and safety representatives and committees. It provides robust compliance and enforcement measures, detailing inspector powers, enforceable undertakings, and legal proceedings, including for industrial manslaughter offences. The framework promotes continuous improvement in work health and safety practices, ensuring fair representation, advice, and training to achieve safer working environments across all industries, notably including the agricultural sector.

This legislation establishes a comprehensive framework for licensing and regulating providers of labour hire services. Its primary aims are to protect workers from exploitation and to promote integrity within the labour hire industry. The law mandates that all labour hire providers must hold a licence to operate, and prohibits engaging with unlicensed providers or attempting to circumvent the regulations. Applicants for a licence must demonstrate they are fit and proper persons and that their business is financially viable. Licensed providers are required to comply with all relevant laws, submit regular reports on their operations, ensure their nominated officers are available, and notify authorities of significant changes. A public register of licences is maintained for transparency.

This legislation establishes a mandatory licensing system to regulate the provision of labour hire services. Its core objective is to protect workers from exploitation by labour hire providers and host businesses, while significantly improving the transparency and integrity of the entire industry. The framework requires all providers to secure a licence, strictly prohibiting operations or arrangements with unlicensed entities. It sets out detailed application criteria, demanding declarations of legal compliance across areas like workplace, taxation, and migration laws. The law creates a dedicated Labour Hire Licensing Authority and Commissioner to manage licences, monitor adherence, and enforce regulations through inspections and civil penalties. It also mandates ongoing reporting, fee payments, accurate record-keeping, and full cooperation with regulatory bodies, ensuring high standards and accountability within the sector.

This legislation establishes a comprehensive framework for licensing and regulating providers of labour hire services. Its primary purpose is to protect workers from exploitation and ensure that labour hire businesses meet their legal and ethical obligations. It aims to foster integrity and responsible practices within the labour hire industry. A key feature is a mandatory licensing scheme, requiring all labour hire providers to obtain and maintain a licence, demonstrating their suitability and adherence to workplace laws. A public register of licensed providers enhances transparency. The legislation outlines penalties for operating without a licence, breaching conditions, or engaging unlicensed providers. It also grants powers for monitoring compliance, conducting investigations, and taking regulatory action, ensuring a fair and compliant labour hire market.

This legislation establishes a modern and robust framework for regulating apprenticeships and traineeships in Queensland. Its core purpose is to cultivate a skilled workforce that effectively meets the current and future needs of industry, government, and the community, thereby strengthening the state’s economic base. It facilitates high-quality vocational education and training directly linked to employment, supporting individuals in accessing and completing the skills training required for job readiness and personal prosperity. The legislation streamlines the system through provisions governing training contracts, outlining specific obligations for employers and training organisations, and establishing mechanisms for compliance, including inspector powers and a Training Ombudsman. It aims to support industries and employers in fostering and retaining apprentices and trainees, ensuring a responsive and flexible approach to trade training.

This legislation establishes a comprehensive framework for vocational education and training in the Northern Territory. Its primary purpose is to ensure the provision of nationally recognised training that addresses current and future needs of government, industry, and the community, thereby supporting employment and economic growth. The framework aims to enhance quality, flexibility, innovation, and access within vocational education. It defines the responsibilities for employers, apprentices, trainees, and Registered Training Organisations. Key provisions include processes for employer approval, the creation and management of training contracts and plans, and the oversight of training providers. It also sets out regulations for apprentice and trainee wages, employer record-keeping, and compliance through authorised officers, ensuring a responsive and effective training system for a skilled workforce.

This legislation establishes a comprehensive vocational education and training system in Western Australia. It aims to efficiently meet industry and community skill needs by regulating training providers and courses. The framework ensures a competitive training market and promotes equality of opportunity in skill development. Key functions include registering and accrediting vocational training providers and courses, as well as overseeing and enforcing rules for training contracts, such as apprenticeships. The system is governed by a Ministerial Corporation, advised by a State Training Board, and regulated by a Training Accreditation Council. It outlines requirements for training colleges, ensuring strategic planning and accountability. Provisions also detail compliance, inspection, and enforcement measures to maintain high standards and integrity across the state's training landscape.

This legislation establishes a comprehensive framework for industrial relations in New South Wales. Its primary purpose is to ensure fair and just employment conditions, promote economic efficiency, and facilitate prompt dispute resolution across the state. It empowers the Industrial Relations Commission to set employment standards through awards and approve enterprise agreements, while also preventing discrimination and ensuring equal remuneration. The framework protects employee rights, including parental leave entitlements and remedies for unfair dismissal. It outlines employer obligations regarding remuneration and record-keeping, and regulates industrial organisations to ensure democratic control and transparent operations. The legislation also provides mechanisms for enforcement, inspections, and the recovery of unpaid wages, fostering cooperative and productive workplace relations.

This legislation establishes long service leave entitlements for employees across public and private sectors, including police officers. It grants eligible employees long service leave equal to one-sixtieth of their total continuous employment after seven years of service. The law details how leave is calculated, defines continuous employment and ordinary pay, and outlines processes for requesting and directing leave. It mandates payment of entitlements upon cessation of employment or an employee's death. The legislation preserves superior accrued entitlements from previous agreements and prohibits contracting out of its provisions unless more beneficial. It defines employer obligations for record-keeping, requires disclosure of modified entitlements in workplace agreements, and establishes enforcement mechanisms through the Industrial Division of the Magistrates' Court, including prohibitions on actions like payments in lieu or adverse action.

This legislation broadens and updates the law to promote equal opportunity and protect against discrimination, sexual harassment, and victimisation. Its core aim is to eliminate these harmful practices to the greatest extent possible, fostering equality by addressing systemic causes and requiring reasonable adjustments for substantive equality. The law identifies specific attributes, such as age, disability, race, and sex, on which discrimination is prohibited across various domains including employment, education, and the provision of goods and services. It imposes a general duty on individuals and organisations to take proportionate measures to prevent unlawful conduct. An independent commission is established to encourage best practices, conduct investigations, and resolve disputes. The legislation also outlines a clear dispute resolution pathway, including direct access to a civil and administrative tribunal, to ensure fair treatment and uphold human rights for all.

This legislation establishes a comprehensive framework for managing employer-employee relations in South Australia. It aims to ensure fair and equitable industrial matters, including setting minimum standards for wages, various types of leave such as sick, carer's, bereavement, family and domestic violence, annual, and parental leave, and severance payments. The framework promotes industrial efficiency, economic prosperity, and employment security. It provides mechanisms for resolving disputes through conciliation and adjudication by the South Australian Employment Tribunal, and outlines procedures for enterprise agreements and awards. Key protections include rights against unfair dismissal, freedom of association, and the prevention of workplace discrimination, ensuring equal remuneration and balancing work with family responsibilities. Employers are also subject to strict record-keeping and compliance requirements.

A comprehensive framework governs industrial relations in Western Australia, aiming to consolidate and amend laws for preventing and resolving workplace conflicts. It defines the rights and duties of employers, employees, and industrial organisations, fostering goodwill, freedom of association, and fair terms of employment. The framework promotes gender equality, fair wages, collective bargaining, and efficient work practices balanced with employee fairness. It provides robust mechanisms for dispute resolution, including conciliation and arbitration by the Western Australian Industrial Relations Commission, and ensures the enforcement of agreements and awards. Additionally, it prevents bullying and sexual harassment, protects employee rights against discrimination and sham contracts, and mandates transparent record-keeping for employers and registered organisations.

This legislation establishes a comprehensive framework for New South Wales to address climate change, fulfilling international commitments to limit global temperature increases and enhance climate resilience for a sustainable future. It sets ambitious targets to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions from 2005 levels: by at least 50% by 2030, 70% by 2035, and achieving net zero by 2050. An independent Net Zero Commission is established to monitor progress towards these emission reduction and adaptation objectives, provide expert advice and recommendations to the government, and educate businesses and individuals on climate action. While the legislation mandates government action and oversight, it does not impose direct compliance requirements on private agricultural organizations, instead focusing on informing and advising sectors like agriculture on climate change initiatives.