Fair Work Act. Australia
principles:
(a) that this Act should provide for, and continue to provide for, the following:
(i) a strong, simple and enforceable safety net of minimum employment standards;
(ii) genuine rights and responsibilities to ensure fairness, choice and representation at work, including the freedom to choose whether or not to join and be represented by a union or participate in collective activities;
(iii) collective bargaining at the enterprise level with no provision for individual statutory agreements;
(iv) fair and effective remedies available through an independent umpire;
(v) protection from unfair dismissal;
(b) that there should be, and continue to be, in connection with the operation of this Act, the following:
(i) an independent tribunal system;
(ii) an independent authority able to assist employers and employees within a national workplace relations system.
30M Extended meaning of national system employee
(1) A national system employee includes:
(a) any individual in a State that is a referring State because of this Division so far as he or she is employed, or usually employed, as described in paragraph 30N(1)(a), except on a vocational placement; and
(b) a law enforcement officer of the State to whom subsection 30P(1) applies.
(2) This section does not limit the operation of section 13 (which defines a national system employee).
Note: Section 30S may limit the extent to which this section extends the meaning of national system employee.
30N Extended meaning of national system employer
(1) A national system employer includes:
(a) any person in a State that is a referring State because of this Division so far as the person employs, or usually employs, an individual; and
(b) a holder of an office to whom subsection 30P(2) applies.
(2) This section does not limit the operation of section 14 (which defines a national system employer).
Note: Section 30S may limit the extent to which this section extends the meaning of national system employer.
30P Extended ordinary meanings of employee and employer
(1) A reference in this Act to an employee with its ordinary meaning includes a reference to a law enforcement officer of a referring State if the State’s referral law so provides for the purposes of that law.
(2) A reference in this Act to an employer with its ordinary meaning includes a reference to a holder of an office of a State if the State’s referral law provides, for the purposes of that law, that the holder of the office is taken to be the employer of a law enforcement officer of the State.
(3) This section does not limit the operation of section 15 (which deals with references to employee and employer with their ordinary meanings).
Note: Section 30S may limit the extent to which this section extends the meanings of employee and employer.
30Q Extended meaning of outworker entity
(1) An outworker entity includes a person, other than in the person’s capacity as a national system employer, so far as:
(a) the person arranges for work to be performed for the person (either directly or indirectly); and
(b) the work is of a kind that is often performed by outworkers; and
(c) one or more of the following applies:
(i) at the time the arrangement is made, one or more parties to the arrangement is in a State that is a referring State because of this Division;
(ii) the work is to be performed in a State that is a referring State because of this Division;
(iii) the person referred to in paragraph (a) carries on an activity (whether of a commercial, governmental or other nature) in a State that is a referring State because of this Division, and the work is reasonably likely to be performed in that State;
(iv) the person referred to in paragraph (a) carries on an activity (whether of a commercial, governmental or other nature) in a State that is a referring State because of this Division, and the work is to be performed in connection with that activity.
(2) This section does not limit the operation of the definition of outworker entity in section 12.
Note: Section 30S may limit the extent to which this section extends the meaning of outworker entity.
30R General protections
(1) Part 3–1 (which deals with general protections) applies to action taken in a State that is a referring State because of this Division.
(2) This section applies despite section 337 (which limits the application of Part 3–1), and does not limit the operation of sections 338 and 339 (which set out the application of that Part).
Note: Section 30S may limit the extent to which this section extends the application of Part 3–1.
30S Division only has effect if supported by reference
A provision of this Division has effect in relation to a State that is a referring State because of this Division only to the extent that the State’s referral law refers to the Parliament of the Commonwealth the matters mentioned in subsection 30L(1) that result in the Parliament of the Commonwealth having sufficient legislative power for the provision so to have effect.
Division 3—Geographical application of this Act
31 Exclusion of persons etc. insufficiently connected with Australia
(1) A provision of this Act prescribed by the regulations does not apply to a person or entity in Australia prescribed by the regulations as a person to whom, or an entity to which, the provision does not apply.
Note 1:In this context, Australia includes the Territory of Christmas Island, the Territory of Cocos (Keeling)Islands and the coastal sea (see section 15B and paragraph 17(a) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901).
Note 2:The regulations may prescribe the person or entity by reference to a class (see subsection 13(3) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003).
(2) Before the Governor-General makes regulations for the purposes of subsection (1) prescribing either or both of the following:
(a) a provision of this Act that is not to apply to a person or entity;
(b) a person to whom, or an entity to which, a provision of this Act is not to apply;
the Minister must be satisfied that the provision should not apply to the person or entity in Australia because there is not a sufficient connection between the person or entity and Australia.
32 Regulations may modify application of this Act in certain parts of Australia
If the regulations prescribe modifications of this Act for its application in relation to all or part of any one or more of the following areas:
(a) all the waters of the sea on the landward side of the outer limits of the territorial sea of Australia, including:
(i) such waters within the limits of a State or Territory; and
(ii) the airspace over, and the seabed and sub-soil beneath, such waters;
(b) the Territory of Christmas Island;
(c) the Territory of Cocos (Keeling)Islands;
then this Act has effect as so modified