About Protecting Worker Entitlements

The Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Protecting Worker Entitlements) Bill 2023 received Royal Assent on 30 June 2023. The resulting amendments, documented in the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Protecting Worker Entitlements) Act 2023 (PWE Act), take effect on 1 January 2024 unless an earlier date is fixed by proclamation.

The measures give effect to Recommendation 4 of the KPMG Report Enhancing certainty and fairness: Independent Review of the Coal Mining Industry (Long Service Leave Funding) Scheme.

The Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Protecting Worker Entitlements) Act 2023 amends the:

• Coal Mining Industry (Long Service Leave) Administration Act 1992
• Payroll Levy Collection Act 1992.

Under the new legislation, calculation methods for the accrual, payment and reporting of a casual employee’s long service leave entitlements will change. In particular:

• Where a casual employee’s industrial instrument specifies they are to be paid a casual loading and the loading can be quantified, a casual employee’s casual loading will be applied to the payment of the employee’s long service leave entitlements.
• The amendments expand the meaning of ‘qualifying service’ to deem that certain weeks, where a casual employee does not work due to specific rostering arrangements, are periods of qualifying service.
• A new Levy Advice form will be in force from 1 January 2024 for all employers. Note: although the form is changing, the method and period of reporting to Coal LSL is not changing: employers are still required to upload their levy return each month through Online Services.

Details of the amendments can be found in the PWE Act under Schedule 6.