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Road Safety Remuneration Bill Passes Senate
Following on from our 2 December 2011 article regarding the Road Safety Remuneration Bill 2011 (the Bill) (see related article here), we can now report that the Bill: was passed through the Senate on 21 March 2012; is awaiting royal assent; and will commence operation on 1 July 2012. An amendment to the Bill in the House of Representatives has delayed the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal (the Tribunal) from hearing disputes until 1 January 2013, unless in exceptional circumstances. The delay between the commencement of the Bill and the Tribunal hearing disputes was provided to allow the Tribunal time to commence formulating work programs and to make Road Safety Remuneration Orders (RDROs) and to give industry stakeholders time to become familiar with the dispute resolution framework in the Bill. This means that from 1 July 2012, the Tribunal can inquire into sectors, issues and prac...
2 April 2012New South Wales Health and Safety Laws Expand Range of Duties and Duty Holders
New laws, based on the federal government’s model harmonised Work Health and Safety Act 2011, took effect in most states and territories (including New South Wales) on 1 January 2012. The New South Wales Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (WHS Act) repealed the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000 (OHS Act). The WHS Act creates significant obligations for employers and other persons who influence the performance of work. In this article, we will outline the categories of persons who hold obligations under the WHS Act and some of the more significant of those obligations. Workplace health and safety responsibilities Person conducting a business or undertaking The WHS Act introduces a new category of duty holder — person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) — to identify those persons with a primary duty. The definition of PCBU ex...
7 March 2012New Bill to Introduce Superannuation Amendments
The federal government introduced a new bill in the House of Representatives on 1 March 2012 entitled the Tax and Superannuation Laws Amendment (2012 Measures No. 1) Bill (the Bill). The Bill seeks to amend various superannuation and taxation laws and places further obligations on employers regarding payslip reporting. The following comprises a summary of the Bill’s major amendments. Note, the Bill is still being debated before the House of Representatives, so the following is not law yet. Payslip reporting The Bill requires employers to print on an employee’s payslip the amount of superannuation contribution that will be paid and the date by which the employer expects to pay the superannuation contribution to the relevant fund — this new requirement is in line with regulation 3.46 of the Fair Work Regulations 2009. Disclosure of superannuation information...
7 March 2012