The Changes To Workplace Laws That Employers Need To Know About

The Australian Government introduced important changes to workplace relations laws last year that will impact employment contracts, payroll processes and workplace policies. There are more regulatory changes coming this year, including Payday Super on 1 July. Here’s an overview of the key workplace reforms that Australian businesses, and international entities operating here, must comply with in 2025-26 to avoid penalties beyond. 

Key regulatory start dates 

2026 workplace reforms

NSW hearing tests: 1 January 2026

In NSW, employers with workers exposed to hazardous noise must ensure baseline audiometric tests and ongoing tests every 2 years under SafeWork NSW requirements. This is now enforceable after 1 January 2026 and must be incorporated into health surveillance programs.

Apprenticeship payments: 1 January 2026

Effective 1 January 2026, support payments for employers and apprentices have been halved (from $5,000 to $2,500 for eligible apprentices and Priority Hiring Incentive payments). This affects workforce planning and budgeting for training.

Payday Super: 1 July 2026

From 1 July 2026, under the Treasury Laws Amendment (Payday Superannuation) Bill 2025 and Superannuation Guarantee Charge Amendment Bill 2025 – which were passed on 4 November 2025 – employers will be required to pay employees’ superannuation at the same time as their salary/wages. This replaces the current requirement to pay super on a quarterly basis.

After each payday, there will be a 7-calendar-day-window due date for super contributions to arrive in employees’ super fund. This provides time for funds to move through the employers’ payment systems, including clearing houses.

Failure to pay employees’ minimum super guarantee amounts in full and on time will make employers liable for the new superannuation guarantee charge (SGC). The Australian Taxation Office will calculate the SGC and send employers a notice of assessment. Late payment of the SGC will incur penalties.

Increased parental leave pay: 1 July 2026

From 1 July 2026, the maximum amount of government-funded parental leave pay (PLP) will increase from 24 weeks to 26 weeks (130 days) for children born or adopted on or after this date. This is the final step in a phased expansion of the scheme.

Potential legislative changes coming this year

• Working-from-home clause: The Fair Work Commission is expected to release a model working-from-home clause for the Clerks – Private Sector Award 2020 during 2026, which may impact existing remote work arrangements and policies.
• State-based reforms: Various state-specific workplace reforms – such as proposed changes to the workers’ compensation regime for psychological injuries in NSW – may also roll out between late 2025 and early 2026.

Looking ahead to 2027: employment contracts

In March 2025, the Federal Government announced proposed reforms to worker restraints in the 2025-26 Budget, including bans on non-compete clauses for employees earning below the Fair Work Act high-income threshold ($183,100 for 2025-26), as well as no-poach and wage-fixing agreements under competition law.

Consultation on the reforms closed on 5 September 2025, with submissions published on 31 October 2025. The reforms are expected to commence from 2027, with further consultation continuing during the legislative drafting process.

2025 workplace reforms

In case you missed them...

Psychosocial legislation in Victoria: 1 December 2025

Victoria’s Occupational Health and Safety (Psychological Health) Regulations 2025 commenced on 1 December 2025, introducing enhanced obligations on employers to manage psychosocial hazards under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004.

Employers must, so far as reasonably practicable, identify, assess and eliminate or reduce psychosocial risks, and regularly review control measures for employees, contractors and labour-hire workers. The Regulations adopt a modified hierarchy of controls, prioritising elimination and structural measures over training alone.

Although proposed mandatory reporting and prevention plans were removed, WorkSafe Victoria recommends maintaining prevention plans as best practice. The Regulations also strengthen consultation requirements with Health and Safety Representatives and prescribe circumstances requiring review of controls.

Overall, the Regulations signal a more prescriptive approach to managing psychological health risks in Victoria compared to other Australian jurisdictions.

Entitlement to employer-funded paid parental leave for stillbirth or death of child: 7 November 2025

From 7 November 2025, the Fair Work Amendment (Baby Priya’s) Act 2025 strengthens protections for employer-funded paid parental leave under the Fair Work Act 2009.

Previously, while employees retained entitlements to unpaid parental leave and government-funded PLP in cases of stillbirth or infant death, employer-funded paid parental leave was not protected. This Act amends the Fair Work Act to ensure that, unless expressly agreed otherwise, employees do not lose employer-funded paid parental leave where a child is stillborn or dies shortly after birth (where the stillbirth or death occurs on or after 7 November 2025).

Employers may only refuse or cancel employer-funded paid parental leave in circumstances where a specific exception applies, including where:

• the employment terms expressly allow refusal or cancellation due to stillbirth or death;
• the employee is expressly not entitled to the leave in such circumstances under their employment terms; or
• the employee is entitled to another form of leave that expressly addresses stillbirth or infant death (excluding unpaid parental leave and compassionate leave), or requests cancellation themselves.

Award changes: 1 July 2025

Alongside the Federal Government’s boost to the national minimum wage from 1 July 2025 (a 3.5% increase to $24.95 per hour or $948 per week), five awards are set for award rate increases and reclassifications based on the Fair Work Commission (FWC)’s landmark gender undervaluation ruling earlier last year.

The FWC found that five awards covering female-dominated industries do not provide equal remuneration for work of comparable value. To fix this, these awards will be modified:

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers and Practitioners and Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services Award 2020

• Children’s Services Award 2010

• Health Professionals and Support Services Award 2020
• Pharmacy Industry Award 2020
• Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award 2010.

The decision comes after amendments to the Fair Work Act 2009 through the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Act 2022 required the FWC to actively consider gender equality when setting minimum award rates.

Criminalising intentional wage underpayments: 1 January 2025

Intentional underpayment of wages or entitlements can be a criminal offence as of 1 January 2025. This doesn’t include honest mistakes.

An employer may commit a criminal offence where they:

• were required to pay an amount:
  • to an employee, such as wages or paid leave entitlements
  • on behalf of the employee, or for their benefit, such as superannuation or a salary sacrifice arrangement
• have intentionally done something that intentionally results in those amounts not being paid on or before the day they were due.

The offence applies only to intentional underpayments that happen after these provisions take effect. This includes where they’re part of a course of conduct that started before the provisions take effect.

Payroll Remediation Program Guide released

On 1 May 2025, the Fair Work Ombudsman released the Payroll Remediation Program Guide. The guide aims to assist employers, and their representatives, to identify and correct underpayments of employee entitlements under the Fair Work Act.

Fixed-term contracts

Under the 2024 tranche of Closing Loopholes reforms, fixed-term contracts are now limited in duration and renewal – unless certain exceptions apply. These include what the Fair Work Ombudsman refers to as “additional exceptions”, which cover certain funding-reliant sectors such as higher education and charities/not-for-profit organisations.

Closing Loopholes is a wide-ranging set of laws that amended the Fair Work Act in relation to casual employment, wage underpayments, independent contractors, discrimination protections and enterprise bargaining among other rules. The changes took effect at different times between December 2023 and August 2025.

More information

• Understanding Payday Super: What You Need To Know About The Upcoming Changes
• Legislation changes – Fair Work Ombudsman

Are you ready for these employment reforms? Azure Group’s Business Accounting and International Client Service teams can help keep you up to date and compliant with regulatory changes in the Australian workplace. 

This article is intended to provide general information only and is not to be regarded as legal or financial advice. The content is based on current facts, circumstances and assumptions, and its accuracy may be affected by changes in laws, regulations or market conditions. Accordingly, neither Azure Group Pty Ltd, nor any member or employee of Azure Group or associated entities, undertakes responsibility arising in any way whatsoever to any persons in respect of this alert or any error or omissions herein, arising through negligence or otherwise howsoever caused. Readers are advised to consult with qualified professionals for advice specific to their situation before taking any action.