The Fair Work Commission has released word on the scope of a workplace awards review.

The door is open for some serious overhauling in the four-yearly review of the Modern Award system, which a Labor government created in 2010.

The commission will cast an eye over 122 modern awards from a diverse range of industries including cleaning, hospitality, manufacturing, transport, mining and banking.

The review is expected to run until mid-2015, with the commission able to make decisions on minimum wages and other conditions.

Lobbying is in full swing already, with industry groups pushing for more flexibility on part-time contracts and rates.

The Federal Government has said it wants the commissioners to into account what it considers is a weak economic environment, and one in which employers are feeling the costs of hiring.

Unions believe the review should be used to improve conditions for apprentices and enhance workers’ rights in relation to family commitments, minimum conditions and entitlements for casuals.

The Fair Work statement this week said the principle of a “fair and relevant minimum safety net of terms of conditions” can mean different things in different industries.

“There may be no one set of provisions in a particular modern award which can be said to provide a fair and relevant minimum safety net of terms and conditions,” the decision said.

“There may be a number of permutations of a particular modern award, each of which may be said to achieve the modern awards objective.”

Currently, modern awards can be varied for reasons related to the nature of the work, skills required, responsibility involved, and the workplace environment.

The commission should now release a draft plan on how it will conduct the review in mid-April.