Australia’s National Employment Standards are getting their first major comprehensive parliamentary review since being implemented in 2009. A flood of submissions from industry groups, unions and individuals highlights the variety of strong opinions about Australia's industrial landscape.

In this episode, we kick off with our monthly industrial relations briefing with Amal Cimino CPHR, AHRI’s HR Standards and Capability Development Manager, who talks about the Closing Loopholes review, Federal budget outcomes and more.

Following this, employment lawyer Lisa Mannering FCPHR joins host Jonathon Woolfrey FCPHR to dissect the highest-stakes items on the table in the upcoming NES review, ranging from the fiercely debated push for five weeks of annual leave to the logistical headaches of casual notice periods and the campaign to force AI into mandatory consultation clauses.

To wrap things up, we field a few tricky curveballs from our listeners regarding the potential changes to arise from the review.

Further learning:

• 5 changes under consideration in the NES review: https://www.ahri.com.au/articles/5-changes-under-consideration-in-the-national-employment-standards-review
• How casual work could evolve as a result of current legislation reviews: https://www.ahri.com.au/articles/casual-work-legislation-reviews
• Federal Court judgement: https://www.judgments.fedcourt.gov.au/judgments/Judgments/fca/single/2025/2025fca1092

Resources:

• The Fair Work Commission's Pay and Conditions tool (PACT): https://calculate.fairwork.gov.au/
• AHRI HR's Federal Budget briefing: https://media.licdn.com/dms/document/media/v2/D561FAQEmxldWM7ttYA/feedshare-document-pdf-analyzed/B56Z4gQ4AIKoAY-/0/1778657757607?e=1779926400&v=beta&t=bOw2FwRy6X2ojD4uTt2szDKYUZ-K9qTw_dM-hYToqiQ
• AHRI's Closing Loopholes draft report: https://www.dewr.gov.au/download/17619/closing-loopholes-review-draft-report/42732/closing-loopholes-review-draft-report/pdf

Connect:

Follow AHRI on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ahri/

Connect with Jonathon Woolfrey FCPHR: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathonwoolfrey/

Connect with Amal Cimino CPHR: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amal-cimino-cphr-6375a376/

Connect with Lisa Mannering FCPHR: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-mannering/

AHRI members can join the AHRI LinkedIn Lounge to access bonus content and continue the discussion: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13848256/

Not yet an AHRI member? Join today and access a range of benefits, as well as a passionate community of HR practitioners: https://www.ahri.com.au/ahri-membership