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Legislative bills

Protecting Penalty Rates: A Fair Deal for Australian Workers

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

As Senator O'Neill takes to the floor, he lays bare the reality faced by many Australian workers, particularly in the retail and hospitality sectors, who toil late into the night, on weekends, and on public holidays to make ends meet. Despite the contribution these workers make to the country's economy, some employers seek to erode their penalty rates, leaving them worse off. The Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Penalty and Overtime Rates) Bill 2025 aims to safeguard the rights of these workers by preventing employers from rolling up penalty rates and overtime rates into a single rate of pay.

Key Takeaways:

  • The bill protects the penalty rates of 2.6 million modern-award-reliant workers, including those in retail, hospitality, and fast food.
  • Award-reliant employees who are impacted by cuts to penalty rates are disproportionately women, young people under 35, part-time workers, and casuals.
  • The bill ensures that penalty rates are not a bonus, but rather a recognition of the unsociable hours worked by retail and hospitality staff, shift workers, and essential services staff.
  • The legislation does not act retrospectively, allowing employers to continue meeting their current award obligations.
  • It ensures fairness in enterprise bargaining frameworks, providing a safeguard against employers who seek to exploit their workers.

Statistics:

  • 2.6 million modern-award-reliant workers will be protected by the Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Penalty and Overtime Rates) Bill 2025.
  • Award-reliant employees who are impacted by cuts to penalty rates are disproportionately women (71%), young people under 35 (63%), part-time workers (55%), and casuals (51%).
  • 71% of retail workers and 63% of fast food workers are impacted by cuts to penalty rates.
  • 71% of employers in the retail industry have cases before the Fair Work Commission to erode penalty rates.

Sources:

  • Senator O'Neill's speech in the Australian Parliament
  • Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Penalty and Overtime Rates) Bill 2025
  • Fair Work Act 2009

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