Australia: Contract of Employment

The Federal Government has proposed legislation that would fundamentally reshape post-employment restraints in Australia, introducing a ban on non-compete clauses for employees earning below $190,100 and prohibiting co-worker non-solicitation provisions regardless of income level. These reforms would expose employers to significant penalties simply for including prohibited clauses in employment arrangements, while also treating no-poach and wage-fixing agreements as cartel conduct with potential criminal li

The Fair Work Commission's Full Bench has published its decision on working from home arrangements for clerical employees, introducing a facilitative clause that maintains the current status quo. While the new clause formalizes the process for employees to request remote work arrangements, it notably rejects union proposals for a broad 'right to request' and employer proposals to significantly widen ordinary working hours, affirming that existing flexible work arrangements are largely functioning

The Western Australian Court of Appeal has ruled that a 'demotion' under workers' compensation law does not require active employer conduct, confirming that the objective fact of reduced employment status—whether through action or inaction—can trigger stress claim exclusions.