Archived News for Human Resource Professionals

In September 2011, there were almost 6.0 million people, or a third (33%) of all Australians aged 15 years and over not in the labour force according to figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Over half (52%) of people not in the labour force were aged 60 years or over. Nearly two-thirds (60%) were women. 

Of the 900,000 people who were not in the labour force, who wanted work and were available to start within 4 weeks, there were 90,700 discouraged job seekers (52,300 men and 59,500 women). These are people who wanted to work and were also available to start work in the next four weeks, but were not actively looking for a job because they believed they would not find one. The number of discouraged job seekers decreased again in 2011, down from 102,000 in 2010 after a peak of 111,800 workers in 2009.

Discouraged job seekers reported that their main reason for giving up looking for work was that they were 'Considered too old by employers' (36%). This was followed by 'Lacked necessary skills, training or experience' (16%). Over half of discouraged job seekers (56%) were aged over 55 years; while a further 13% were aged under 24 years.

There were 247,600 women not in the labour force because they were caring for children who wanted to work but were not actively looking for work. They cited preferring to look after children and cost of child care as the main reasons for not looking for work.

The proportion of 25–34 year olds not in the labour force who are attending an educational institution has been rising steadily. In 2011, 19% (99,900) of 25–35 year olds reported 'Attending an educational institution' as their main activity when not in the labour force. This was up from 17% in 2009 and 14% in 2007.

The Federal Government has passed legislation that will abolish the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) through the Senate.

The Australian Industry Group has applied to Fair Work Australia for changes to the Model Award Flexibility Clause - a term of all modern awards - which would allow individual award covered employees to agree with their employers on flexible leave arrangements including the cashing-out of annual leave.

Australian-born multinationals are investing more in holding onto their key people than foreign-owned firms in an effort to fight the brain drain, according to a new study.

The ACTU has announced it will launch one of the biggest test cases in recent years by applying to Fair Work Australia to establish a new, fairer safety net for apprentices. It maintains that apprentice wages need to be urgently lifted to give young people a pathway to a secure job and to ensure Australia continues to have a skilled workforce.

The Australian Industry Group has  released a supplementary submission to the Fair Work Act Review in response to the unions' proposed changes to the Act.

The Fair Work Ombudsman has released  new trainee wage calculators to help employers determine the rates of pay for trainees.

Recent research by the University of Sydney has found that many trade apprentices are living on a wage that falls below the poverty line, with many wages barely higher than the unemployment benefit.

Westpac has announced it will shed up to 126 jobs from its Australian operations, with the Financial Services Union  (FSU) claiming the bank plans to offshore the 119 technology roles and 7 collection roles.

Consult Australia has released results of a landmark benchmarking study into gender diversity within the engineering workforce, marking a critical first step by industry towards proactively overcoming the issue.

In September 2011, there were 11.6 million people employed in Australia. Of these people, 786,800 wanted to work more hours and were available, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). The average number of extra hours preferred per week was 14.1 hours. 

The Productivity Commission has released its Default Superannuation Funds in Modern Awards inquiry issues paper, which intends to assist the public in preparing a submission to the Commission.

The Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Amendment Bill 2012 has been introduced into Parliament.

A recent survey conducted by Safesearch shows that universities are failing to keep up with demand for workplace safety professionals.

WorkSafe Victoria is looking to appoint a new Chief Executive, following the resignation of Greg Tweedly earlier this month after the Victorian Government announced it would strip $470 million over four years from its budget to bolster general revenue.

The Federal Court has ordered an end to the ongoing nursing unprotected industrial action in Victoria, ending a week of ongoing stoppages that put strain on the state’s surgical capacity.

The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) is urging changes to workplace laws that should improve job security, rights and protections for the millions of people in Australia in insecure work.

A recent survey has found that the exponential growth of environmental professionals has plateaued.

Justice Iain Ross AO has been appointed the new President of Fair Work Australia (FWA), succeeding Justice Geoffrey Giudice who steps down on 29 February. 

Since 2009 Justice Ross has been a Victorian Supreme Court judge and last year became President of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal. He is also Chair of the Council of Australian Tribunals.  He has held positions with the Australian Council of Trade Unions and worked with the law reform commissions in New South Wales and Victoria. From 1994-2006 he was Vice President of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission.  

Concurrent with his FWA appointment, Justice Ross has also been appointed judge of the Federal Court. 

A further six FWA appointments have been made by the Government .  They are: 

Deputy President

Anna Booth - Deputy President based in NSW. Ms Booth is an experienced facilitator, accredited mediator, mentor, trainer and owner/director of CoSolve Pty Ltd which specialises in workplace facilitation and mediation services.  She is also the current non-executive Chair of the board of Slater and Gordon and a member of Industry Super entities.  She has previously held senior positions with Star City and Sydney Harbour Casino as well as the Textile, Clothing and Footwear Union, the Clothing and Allied Trades Union and the ACTU. She has served on various Boards including the Commonwealth Bank from 1990-2000. 

Gregory Smith - Deputy President based in Victoria. A FWA Commissioner since 2009 and a Commissioner of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission since 1989, his previous roles embrace the Confederation of Australian Industry Industrial Council and the Meat and Allied Trades Federation of Australia. He is a Fellow of the Faculty of Business and Economics at Monash University. 

Commissioner

Geoff Bull - Commissioner in NSW.  Currently the Director of Workplace Relations for the Australian Mines and Metals Association, Mr Bull has held legal, policy and managerial positions with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA, BHP Billiton, Goldsworthy Mining and the WA Department of Productivity and Labour Relations. 

David Gregory - Commissioner in Victoria. Mr Gregory has been the Director of Workplace Policy at the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry since 2009.  His previous employers have included the Victorian Employers’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Confederation of Australian Industry, News Limited, and the Victorian Employers’ Federation. 

Bernie Riordan - Commissioner in NSW. Since 1998 he has held positions in NSW with the Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union, and the Electrical Trades Union of Australia. 

General Manager

Bernadette O’Neill - FWA General Manager.  Ms O’Neill has been acting FWA General Manager since September 2011. She was previously Director, Unfair Dismissals, FWA and has occupied a number of senior management and leadership roles with the Victorian Government. Earlier employers include Maurice Blackburn Cashman Lawyers and the Australian Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers Union.

The Victorian Government has announced it will shed hundreds of jobs from the Department of Human Services (DHS), which will form part of the 3,600 jobs that will be cut from the Victorian public service over the next two years.