The ATA has lodged a submission in response to the Fair Work Commission review of the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes) Acts 2023 and 2024, which proposes further reforms to address holes in the Fair Work Act 2009.
Road freight underpins the national economy yet operates on thin margins and faces severe financial pressures. Because of this, sham contracting has become extremely common. Sham contracting undercuts compliant and honest operators, strips workers of entitlements, erodes tax revenue and worsens labour shortages.
The submission addresses previous FWC reforms, but calls for the following amendments to address sham contracting:
- clearer, more consistent statutory definitions of “employee” and “contractor”
- a specified road transport–focused multi-factorial test, and
- a requirement for employers to proactively apply that test
The ATA submission also proposes a higher, industry-specific contractor high-income threshold to reflect the sector’s high operating costs and ensure fair access to dispute remedies.