A Bill for an Act to amend the Fair Work Act 2009, and for related purposes
The Parliament of Australia enacts:
1 Short title
This Act is the Fair Work Amendment (Stop Work to Stop Warming) Act 2019.
2 Commencement
(1) Each provision of this Act specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.
| Commencement information |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
| Provisions | Commencement | Date/Details |
| 1. The whole of this Act | The day after this Act receives the Royal Assent. | |
Note: This table relates only to the provisions of this Act as originally enacted. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this Act.
(2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this Act. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this Act.
3 Schedules
Legislation that is specified in a Schedule to this Act is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this Act has effect according to its terms.
Schedule 1—Amendments
Fair Work Act 2009
1 Section 12
Insert:
protected climate change industrial action: see subsection 477A(1).
2 At the end of subsection 172(1)
Add:
; (e) matters pertaining to climate change.
3 Paragraph 341(2)(c)
After “protected industrial action”, insert “or protected climate change industrial action”.
4 Section 406 (paragraph beginning “Division 10”)
Repeal the paragraph, substitute:
Division 10 deals with the making of applications under this Part. It also deals with protected climate change industrial action. No action lies under any law in force in a State or Territory in relation to protected climate change industrial action except in certain circumstances. The FWC may make orders, in certain circumstances, that protected climate change industrial action stop, not occur or not be organised.
5 At the end of subsections 409(1) and 410(1)
Add:
; and (e) is not protected climate change industrial action.
6 At the end of section 411
Add:
; and (d) is not protected climate change industrial action.
7 Subsection 417(1)
After “in industrial action”, insert “(other than protected climate change industrial action)”.
8 Subsection 418(1)
After “protected industrial action”, insert “or protected climate change industrial action”.
9 Subsection 419(1)
After “that industrial action”, insert “(other than protected climate change industrial action)”.
10 Paragraph 421(2)(b)
After “protected industrial action”, insert “or protected climate change industrial action”.
11 Subsection 474(1)
After “protected industrial action” insert “or protected climate change industrial action”.
12 After section 477
Insert:
477A Protected climate change industrial action
(1) No action lies under any law (whether written or unwritten) in force in a State or Territory in relation to any industrial action (protected climate change industrial action) referred to in subsection (2) unless the industrial action has involved or is likely to involve:
(a) personal injury; or
(b) wilful or reckless destruction of, or damage to, property; or
(c) the unlawful taking, keeping or use of property.
(2) The industrial action is any failure or refusal by employees to attend for work for the purpose of demanding that action be taken to address climate change.
(3) However, subsection (1) does not prevent an action for defamation being brought in relation to anything that occurred in the course of industrial action.
477B FWC must order that protected climate change industrial action stop if endangering life etc.
Orders to stop protected climate change industrial action
(1) The FWC must make an order that protected climate change industrial action stop, not occur or not be organised (as the case may be) if:
(a) the protected climate change industrial action is being engaged in or is threatened, impending or probable; and
(b) the FWC is satisfied that the protected climate change industrial action has threatened, is threatening, or would threaten to endanger the life, the personal safety or health, or the welfare, of the population or of part of it.
(2) The FWC may make the order:
(a) on its own initiative; or
(b) on application by any of the following:
(i) the Minister;
(ii) if the industrial action is being engaged in, or is threatened, impending or probable, in a State that is a referring State as defined in section 30B or 30L—the Minister of the State who has responsibility for workplace relations matters in the State;
(iii) if the industrial action is being engaged in, or is threatened, impending or probable, in a Territory—the Minister of the Territory who has responsibility for workplace relations matters in the Territory;
(iv) a person prescribed by the regulations.
Application must be determined within 5 days
(3) If an application for an order under this section is made, the FWC must, as far as practicable, determine the application within 5 days after it is made.
Interim orders
(4) If the FWC is unable to determine the application within that period, the FWC must, within that period, make an interim order suspending the protected climate change industrial action to which the application relates until the application is determined.
(5) An interim order continues in operation until the application is determined.
13 In the appropriate position in Schedule 1
Insert:
Part 9—Amendments made by the Fair Work Amendment (Stop Work to Stop Warming) Act 2019
40 Application of sections 477A and 477B
Sections 477A and 477B of this Act as inserted by the Fair Work Amendment (Stop Work to Stop Warming) Act 2019 apply in relation to industrial action that occurs on or after the commencement of this Part.