In December 2022, the Fair Work Act was amended to add two new objectives that need to be taken into account when deciding if awards meet the standard required of contemporary industrial relations.

The new matters that the Fair Work Commission (FWC) must consider are whether provisions of awards improve access to secure work and achieve gender equality.

As a result of these changes, the Minister for Employment, the Hon Tony Burke asked the FWC to conduct a review of modern awards to assess whether current award provisions meet the new objectives. In response, the FWC has commenced a process known as the Modern Awards Review 2023-24. The review has started with research being conducted and discussion papers circulated for response. Two streams of the review are of particular interest to the ANMF. The first is ‘Job Security’, and the second is ‘Work and Care’.

The ANMF will argue that any measure that increases job security will also help to achieve gender equality. FWC research confirms that nursing is amongst the most highly gender-segregated occupations, and midwifery is the most segregated. Nurses and midwives are also more likely than the average Australian worker to work part-time and have caring responsibilities.

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