Workplace Relations Framework

Issues papers

This inquiry has concluded. These issues papers were released on 22 January 2015 and are intended to assist you in preparing a submission to the Commission. It covers a range of issues on which the Commission seeks information and feedback.

Initial submissions were due by 13 March 2015.

Download the issues papers

Guide to key issues
Media release
Individual papers

Plain English guide to the key issues

The Australian Government has asked the Productivity Commission to look at possible improvements to Australia's workplace relations system. That system is a set of laws and organisations that regulate minimum wages, awards and penalty rates, unfair dismissal arrangements, and how employees and employers can bargain with each other at the enterprise or individual level. It also provides rights for unions, employees and employers.

The Commission has produced five detailed issues papers that pose many questions about the system (see 'Individual papers' tab), but these are long documents, which you may not have time to read.

This short paper sets out the main issues as they relate to you as an employee, employer or as a representative of these.

There are a number of ways you can send us your views:

you might just want to post some comments directly on our website
alternatively you can email or post us a submission.

We would like to emphasise that we do not expect long or professionally crafted submissions. Your submission might just be a few sentences or 'dot points' telling us about just one feature of the system that should be improved (or for that matter, a feature that seems to be working well), or it might be detailed and lengthy.

You can find out how to make a submission.

The questions and issues

What works well in the system?
Do you have any views about minimum wages, awards, penalty rates, unfair dismissal, bargaining, the compliance burdens of the system and the performance of the Fair Work Commission and the Fair Work Ombudsman?
Have any of these parts of the system assisted you, or on the other hand, created problems for you, and if so how?
What changes would you like to see to the workplace relations system, and why? (We'd also like you to put yourself in the shoes of someone else in the system, say an employer or employee, and think about how that might change your views about the best design of the system.)
How would you achieve the changes you might like to see?
How quickly could these changes be made — in the next few years or much later?
Can you see any downsides to your policy suggestions?
Most people are good employees and employers, but some are not. Taking account of your own recent experiences, please tell us your views about what you would require a workplace relations system to do about this.
Have existing workplace regulations ever stopped you from doing something you would reasonably like to do? For example, for a business, this might be hiring a new worker or deciding to become an employer in the first place. For an employee, it might be getting more flexible hours of work?
Who would you go to for help if you had a workplace issue or needed information about an issue? Are existing systems and organisations working acceptably? If not, what should be done about it?
How much 'red tape' is involved in complying with requirements? What could be done to reduce this, while maintaining a good workplace relations system?

Key inquiry dates

Receipt of terms of reference	19 December 2014
Due date for submissions	13 March 2015
Release of draft report	June/July 2015
Draft report public hearings	August/September 2015
Final report to Government	30 November 2015

Productivity Commission release issues papers on workplace relations

The Productivity Commission has today released a suite of five issues papers relating to its current public inquiry into the performance of the Australian workplace relations framework.

The issues papers are intended to canvas all the big questions about Australia's workplace system. The Commission has asked Australians — employees, employers, unions, people not in work and others — to give their views about the best system for the future. While the Commission seeks detailed responses from key stakeholders, people can also make brief comments and can do so by going to its web page.

The Australian Government asked the Commission to undertake the wide-ranging inquiry into Australia's workplace relations system in late December 2014.

The chair of the Commission, Peter Harris, said: 'We know people hold passionate views about workplace relations. I'd like to emphasise that the Commission is open-minded, and our approach will be evidence-based and impartial. We know that a workplace relations system goes beyond its important economic impacts, and will take account of the human and social elements of what is at stake. We are required by our legislation to account of benefits to the community as a whole, and not any particular interest group'.

The Commission's five issues papers cover all the key aspects of the system: its objectives; the safety net provided by minimum wages, awards and the national employment standards; how people bargain in the system, the protections it provides employees, its compliance costs and its institutions.

Peter Harris said that 'The system is complex and interlinked, so the inquiry must be broad ranging. But just because we raise an issue does not mean we will recommend change in that area. We plan to undertake the analysis and hear what people think, and based on that we will reach conclusions. There will be substantial opportunity for public comment on any proposals'.

The Commission has indicated that it will entertain fresh ideas. The first issues paper says that the Commission 'is open to lateral suggestions so long as they are practical, beneficial and backed by solid evidence and argument'. It also asks for lessons from other countries' workplace relations systems.

The Commission is due to report by the end of November 2015, and will produce a draft report midyear, hold hearings after the draft and seek two rounds of submissions over the course of the inquiry. It is also looking at ways to make it easier for regional Australia to participate in this process.

The Commission is seeking initial public feedback on its issues papers by 13 March 2015.