JobWatch has lodged a submission to the Australian Government’s review of the Closing Loopholes workplace reforms, identifying gaps in the legislation and recommending changes to strengthen protections for vulnerable workers.

March 30, 2026

Publication details

Title: Submission to the Closing Loopholes Review

Published by: JobWatch Inc Date: 6 March 2026

Authors: Gabrielle Marchetti (Principal Lawyer) and John O’Hagan (Senior Lawyer), JobWatch Inc, with significant contributions from Suho Shin and Kelly Jun.

Our submission draws on more than 45 years of frontline experience providing free, tailored and confidential legal assistance to workers across Victoria, Queensland and Tasmania. Since 1999, JobWatch has collected more than 272,000 caller records through our Telephone Information Service (TIS). Our TIS database captures the full spectrum of workplace problems reported by our callers and allows us to track trends in employment issues and the demographics of those who experience them.

About the Closing Loopholes reforms

The Closing Loopholes reforms are a series of amendments to the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) introduced by the Australian Government. They include the criminalisation of intentional wage underpayment, “same job, same pay” labour hire protections, new protections for workers experiencing family and domestic violence, and new rights for employee-like workers (including gig workers) on digital platforms.

What does our submission propose?

Our submission makes 10 recommendations across four key areas of employment law: wage theft enforcement, labour hire arrangements, family and domestic violence protections, and the rights of employee-like workers on digital platforms.

Wage theft enforcement

• Employees should be able to complain directly to the Australian Federal Police about intentional underpayments, which are criminal.
• Civil underpayment claims should be protected from delays caused by parallel criminal proceedings.
• Greater resources should be dedicated to investigating and prosecuting wage theft cases.

Labour hire arrangements

• Labour-hire workers should be deemed employees of the host organisation where the work they perform is a normal part of the host’s ordinary business operations and is done principally at the direction of the host.

Family and domestic violence protections

• Amend the exception to the general protections in section 351(2)(a) of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) so it applies only to express exceptions in discrimination law, with the onus on the employer to establish that an exception applies. Under the current interpretation, the family and domestic violence protection introduced by the Closing Loopholes reforms only applies in South Australia, the ACT and the NT — the only jurisdictions where family and domestic violence is a protected attribute under local discrimination law. The vast majority of Australian workers do not currently benefit from this protection.
• Amend the exception in section 351(2)(b) to clarify that the inherent requirements of a particular position include any reasonable adjustments or accommodations required by law.
• Add interpretive guidance to adverse action provisions to limit subjective interpretation and disaggregation, which have allowed employers to mount excessively technical defences to general protections claims.

Employee-like workers on digital platforms

• Orders for lost pay should be available regardless of whether a worker’s account has been reactivated.
• The Fair Work Commission should be required to consider the role of automated decision-making in deactivation claims, including whether decisions were influenced by automated systems and whether there was meaningful human review.
• General interpretive guidance should be added to the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) to clarify that legislative requirements for fairness or reasonableness are not satisfied by purely algorithmic or automated decision-making.

Download our submission here

Frequently asked questions

What is the Closing Loopholes Review?

The Closing Loopholes Review examines recent amendments to the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) known as the Closing Loopholes reforms.

JobWatch’s submission focuses on strengthening the practical protections provided by these reforms, particularly for workers who are underpaid, engaged through labour hire, experiencing family and domestic violence, or working on digital platforms.

What is wage theft?

Wage theft refers to the intentional underpayment of workers. The Closing Loopholes reforms introduced a new criminal offence for intentional underpayment in section 327A of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth).

JobWatch supports this reform and submits that it should be open to employees to report wage theft directly to the Australian Federal Police, and that civil claims to recover wages are not delayed by related criminal proceedings.

Why doesn’t the family and domestic violence protection apply everywhere in Australia?

Under the current law, the protection against adverse action because of family and domestic violence depends on whether that attribute is protected under state or territory anti-discrimination law. At present, this protection applies only in South Australia, the ACT and the Northern Territory.

JobWatch submits that the law be amended so that the protection applies consistently to all workers covered by the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth).

Who are employee-like workers?

Employee-like workers are people who perform work through digital platforms or in road transport and meet criteria set out in the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth).

JobWatch’s submission considers how the protections for these workers operate in practice, particularly in relation to unfair deactivation and the use of automated decision-making.

What is a “same job, same pay” order?

A regulated labour hire arrangement order (known as “same job, same pay”) requires labour hire workers to be paid at least the same as directly employed workers doing equivalent work.

JobWatch supports this reform and submits that, where labour hire work is a normal part of a host’s ordinary business operations and performed at the host’s direction, the host should be treated as the employer.

Who would be affected by JobWatch’s submission?

JobWatch’s submission would affect workers covered  by the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), particularly those who are underpaid, engaged through labour hire, experiencing family and domestic violence, or working through digital platforms.