FREE READ: Clarity at Last for Casuals Unpacking the New Landscape for Employers

Subject: Employment Law CPD 
Author: Nick Ruskin, Partner, K&L Gates

After years of debate, the Fair Work Act 2009 (Fair Work Act) was amended in late March 2021 to provide a definition of 'casual employment' for the first time and a requirement in certain circumstances for casual employees to be offered the right to convert to part-time or full-time employment.

On 4 August 2021 The High Court delivered its decision in WorkPac v Rossato [2021] HCA 23 (Rossato) that unanimously overturned Federal Court decisions and made findings about the meaning of casual employment.

However the election of the Labour Government in Australia in May 2022 has changed much of that earlier reform. The third tranche of reform being the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes No. 2) Act 2024 introduced amendments to the March 2021 casual employment provisions. This Act received Royal Assent on Monday, 26 February 2024 and from Monday 26 August 2024 the various changes to casual employment under this Act will take effect. It is therefore important to note that before that date the definition and operations of casual employment set out in the Fair Work Act continue to apply until then.

This paper will explore casual employment, the previous Federal Government's amendments to the Fair Work Act, the High Court Decision in Rossato and the new amendments to casual employment under the Fair Work Act that take effect on 26 August this year.