Closing Loopholes: what changed in Australian employment law
Two Acts, the Closing Loopholes Act 2023 and Closing Loopholes No. 2 Act 2024, rewrote Australian employment law in stages from December 2023 to August 2025, covering wage theft, labour hire, casual employment, contractor status, the right to disconnect and gig-economy protections. A handful of gig-economy minimum standards orders are still being finalised into 2026.
The Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes) Act 2023 (Royal Assent 14 December 2023) and the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes No. 2) Act 2024 (Royal Assent 26 February 2024) rolled out a staggered set of Fair Work Act reforms from 15 December 2023 through to 26 August 2025, covering wage theft criminalisation, labour hire pay equalisation, the right to disconnect, casual employment, independent contractor status, gig economy minimum standards, union right of entry and family/domestic violence discrimination protections. A small number of FWC minimum standards orders under the gig economy powers are still being finalised into 2026.
What are the Closing Loopholes Acts?
Two separate pieces of legislation: the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes) Act 2023, which received Royal Assent on 14 December 2023, and the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes No. 2) Act 2024, assented on 26 February 2024. Between them they cover wage theft criminalisation, labour hire pay equalisation, the right to disconnect, casual employment, independent contractor status, gig-economy minimum standards, expanded union right of entry, and new family and domestic violence discrimination protections.
Why did the reforms roll out in stages rather than all at once?
Each measure commenced on its own date as it was ready, from 15 December 2023 (union right of entry and the new domestic violence protected attribute) through to 26 August 2025 (the employee choice pathway's final phase-in for small business employers). This page lists every confirmed milestone in order.
Right to disconnect and union right of entry, in brief
The right to disconnect lets employees reasonably refuse to monitor or respond to work contact outside working hours, without adverse consequences; it commenced 26 August 2024 for non-small-business employers and 26 August 2025 for small business employers. Separately, the Fair Work Commission gained an expanded, no-notice right of entry power for investigating suspected underpayments, from 15 December 2023.
Who handles this if you hire through Teamed?
This is the reform program Teamed tracks in full on your behalf: right to disconnect policies, union right of entry procedures, wage theft compliance and every other Closing Loopholes obligation are built into how we employ your Australian team, so nothing here becomes your problem to monitor.
Key figures
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Two separate Acts | The Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes) Act 2023 received Royal Assent on 14 December 2023 (legislation.gov.au C2023A00120). The Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes No. 2) Act 2024 received Royal Assent on 26 February 2024 (legislation.gov.au C2024A00002). Together they amend the Fair Work Act 2009. (source) |
| Rollout span | Individual measures commenced on a staggered basis from 15 December 2023 (day after the first Act's Royal Assent) through to 26 August 2025 (small business right to disconnect and casual conversion), with some FWC minimum standards orders for gig economy workers still being finalised in 2026. (source) |
| Regulators involved | The Fair Work Ombudsman enforces the new criminal wage theft offence and standard workplace obligations. The Fair Work Commission administers the new jurisdictions created by the reforms: regulated labour hire arrangement orders, minimum standards orders and guidelines for employee-like and road transport workers, and unfair contract term, deactivation and termination remedies. (source) |
| Small business threshold used throughout the reforms | An employer with fewer than 15 employees at the relevant time (counting employees of associated entities, excluding casuals not engaged regularly and systematically) is treated as a small business for right to disconnect, casual conversion timing, and the Voluntary Small Business Wage Compliance Code. (source) |
| Wage theft penalties | Individuals convicted of the new criminal underpayment offence face up to 10 years imprisonment, and both individuals and body corporates face fines of the greater of 3 times the underpayment or a fixed maximum, expressed in Commonwealth penalty units and set far higher for a body corporate than for an individual. The dollar value of a penalty unit rose on 1 July 2026, so the exact maximum fine should be checked against the Fair Work Ombudsman's current guidance rather than a fixed figure. (source) |
Frequently asked questions
Is Closing Loopholes one law or several?
Two Acts, the Closing Loopholes Act 2023 and Closing Loopholes No. 2 Act 2024, which together introduced a wide range of separate reforms, each with its own commencement date.
Which measures affect day-to-day people management most?
The whole of relationship test for contractor status and the casual employment changes affect classification decisions directly; the right to disconnect affects manager expectations around after-hours contact. See the dedicated topic pages on this hub for each.
Is the reform program complete?
Almost. All core measures are in force. A small number of Fair Work Commission minimum standards orders for gig-economy workers, under powers that commenced 26 August 2024, are still being finalised.
The Closing Loopholes reforms are Australia's biggest overhaul of the Fair Work Act in years. When Teamed is your legal employer, we track every change and update your contracts, policies and payroll as the law lands, so you never have to read a statute to stay compliant.
