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Australia employment law: what changed and when

Australia employment law: what changed and when

Every Closing Loopholes reform and adjacent Australian employment-law change on one page, with confirmed dates, and who handles it if you hire through Teamed.

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The Closing Loopholes reforms rolled out in stages from 15 December 2023 through 26 August 2025, and Payday Super started on schedule on 1 July 2026, two weeks before this page was last reviewed. Together they represent the most significant change to Australian employment and superannuation law in years.

The full timeline

What changedStatusWhenWho handles this at Teamed?
Union right of entry expanded for suspected underpayments (no-notice entry via FWC exemption certificate)In force15 December 2023Handled inside Teamed's Australian employment framework
Discrimination protections extended: being subjected to family and domestic violence becomes a protected attribute under the general protectionsIn force15 December 2023Handled inside Teamed's Australian employment framework
Section 15AB opt-out mechanism enacted, allowing high income contractors to pre-emptively opt out ahead of the whole of relationship testIn force27 February 2024Handled inside Teamed's Australian employment framework
Right to disconnect commences for employees of non-small business employersIn force26 August 2024Handled inside Teamed's Australian employment framework
New statutory definition of employment commences: whole of relationship test (section 15AA) applies to constitutionally covered businessesIn force26 August 2024Handled inside Teamed's Australian employment framework
New statutory definition of casual employee commencesIn force26 August 2024Handled inside Teamed's Australian employment framework
Employee choice pathway introduced, letting eligible casuals notify their employer of intent to convert to permanent employmentIn force26 August 2024Handled inside Teamed's Australian employment framework
Fair Work Commission's new jurisdiction commences: minimum standards orders/guidelines and unfair contract term, deactivation and termination remedies for employee-like gig economy workers and regulated road transport contractorsIn force26 August 2024Handled inside Teamed's Australian employment framework
Same job, same pay for labour hire: earliest date FWC regulated labour hire arrangement orders can take effect (enabling provisions commenced 15 December 2023)In force1 November 2024Handled inside Teamed's Australian employment framework
Intentional wage theft becomes a criminal offence (Voluntary Small Business Wage Compliance Code also takes effect)In force1 January 2025Handled inside Teamed's Australian employment framework
Employee choice pathway: first date pre-existing casuals (employed before 26 August 2024) at non-small-business employers can give a conversion noticeIn force26 February 2025Handled inside Teamed's Australian employment framework
Superannuation guarantee reaches its final legislated rate of 12%In force1 July 2025Applied automatically in Australian payroll
Right to disconnect commences for employees of small business employersIn force26 August 2025Handled inside Teamed's Australian employment framework
Employee choice pathway: first date pre-existing casuals at small-business employers can give a conversion noticeIn force26 August 2025Handled inside Teamed's Australian employment framework
Payday Super starts: super must be paid within 7 business days of each paydayIn force1 July 2026Paid correctly and on time via Teamed payroll
Unfair dismissal high income threshold rises to $190,100; compensation cap to $95,050In force1 July 2026 (annual indexation)Applied automatically to every termination
First sector-specific minimum standards order under the gig economy powers (on-demand food delivery): draft published, proposed start date if the FWC Expert Panel makes the orderExpected10 August 2026 (proposed; order not yet made as at 15 July 2026)Handled inside Teamed's Australian employment framework

How to read this

Status reflects whether a measure is already in force, has a confirmed commencement date, has only an expected timeframe, or is still under consultation. Each row links to the full topic page. This page is reviewed regularly and figures are checked against primary sources on the dates shown.

A note from Teamed

Every one of these changes lands on your contracts, policies or payroll eventually. When Teamed is your legal employer in Australia, we track the reforms and update what you need, when it actually commences, so a new obligation is never your problem to catch.

Teamed Legal Operations
Talk to an expertRead the Australia employment law guide
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