Changes to Modern Awards 2020

Modern Awards and Legislation Update in 2020

Since the Christmas period until 31 January, there have been a few changes and updates to Modern Awards and WHS Codes of Practice. There has also been a flagged change in Victoria that has opened for public submissions.

Building & Construction Award Change Delayed

Changes that had been flagged for 1 January 2020 were pushed back to 1 July 2020. This announcement was made by the Fair Work Commission on the afternoon of 18 December 2019 – the last working week before Christmas.

Cement, Lime & Quarrying Award

The Cement and Lime Award has merged with the Quarry Award, to form the Cement, Lime & Quarrying Award. This merger became effective as of Tuesday 4 February.

Simple Language Update to All Awards

As part of an ongoing program, the FWC is making changes to the layout and language of the awards to help them be more easily understood. These updates will be released in three parts (or, tranches), the first of which were released this week. Updated Pay Rate Schedules for the following awards have been released, and clients under the following awards have been notified:

• Aquaculture Industry
• Banking, Finance and Insurance
• Car Parking
• Cemetery Industry
• Electrical Power Industry
• Gardening and Landscaping Services
• Hydrocarbons Industry (Upstream)
• Legal Services
• Market and Social Research
• Medical Practitioners
• Nursery
• Premixed Concrete
• Real Estate Industry
• Seafood Processing
• Silviculture
• Sporting Organisations
• Surveying
• Travelling Shows
• Water Industry

Queensland WHS Code of Practice Updates

WHS Queensland released updates to three new codes of practice concerning electrical safety. The update came into effect on 2 January. Businesses operating in Queensland must ensure they comply with the updated codes.

The three updated codes were:

• Electrical Safety Codes of Practice 2020 – Electrical equipment rural industry
• Electrical Safety Codes of Practice 2020 – Working near overhead and underground electric lines
• Electrical Safety Codes of Practice 2020 – Works

Consultation on Victorian first aid kits

WorkSafe Victoria has released a draft code of practice on first aid in the workplace. The draft suggests the including of asthma-relieving inhalers and spacers and epinephrine auto-injectors (EpiPens) in first aid kits, as well as a number of other updates.

The draft is available for public comment until 18 February 2020.