Workplace Authority

The Workplace Authority is an Australian Federal Government statutory agency that commenced operations on 1 July 2007, replacing, and expanding on the role of, the Office of the Employment Advocate (OEA), which had been in place since 1997.

Overview

The primary role of the OEA was to accept the lodgement of Australian workplace agreements. In March 2006 the OEA's role was expanded to include the lodgement of collective agreements.

The Workplace Relations Amendment (A Stronger Safety Net) Act 2007 received royal assent on 28 June 2007, establishing the Workplace Authority and introducing the Fairness Test. The Workplace Authority Director is responsible for assessing whether agreements lodged on or after 7 May 2007 pass the Fairness Test.

The Fairness Test is applied to Australian workplace agreements and collective agreements to ensure they provide fair compensation for the removal or modification of protected award conditions, such as penalty rates and overtime loadings.

The Workplace Authority can, upon request, carry out a pre-lodgement review of an agreement to assess whether it would pass the Fairness Test. Additionally, the Authority provides free support and advice to employers, particularly those in the small business sector, and employees in the areas of agreement making and lodgement of agreements, as well as advising on prohibited content and whether agreements meet the minimum requirements as set in the Australian Fair Pay and Conditions Standard.

The Workplace Authority was previously known as the Office of the Employment Advocate.

The Workplace Authority is located in the capital city of every state and territory of Australia, and also operates the Workplace Infoline for workplace relations queries between 8am and 7pm on weekdays.