Legislation

The following legislation may be relevant, depending on the particular business environment in which you are operating.

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011
  This act protects the health, safety and welfare of all workers and others in relation to workplaces and work activities. ¹¹
• Fair Work Act 2009
  This legislation governs the employee/employer relationship in Australia by providing a safety net of minimum entitlements, enabling flexible work arrangements and fairness at work, and preventing discrimination against employees. It protects certain rights of workers including the right to engage in industrial activities.¹²
• Racial Discrimination Act 1975
  The purpose of this act is to protect people from discrimination based on their race, colour, or national or ethnic origin.¹³
• Sex Discrimination Act 1984
  This legislation protects people from discrimination based on their sex, gender identity, intersex status, sexual orientation, marital or relationship status, family responsibilities, because they are or may become pregnant, or because they are breastfeeding.¹³
• Age Discrimination Act 2004
  This act prohibits discrimination on the basis of age in employment, education, accommodation, and the provision of goods and services. It protects both young and old people.¹³
• Disability Discrimination Act 1992
  This act prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in employment, education, access to publicly available premises, accommodation, sport, provision of goods, services and facilities.¹³
• Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013
  This act establishes a coherent system of governance and accountability for public resources, with an emphasis on planning, performance and reporting. It applies to all Commonwealth entities and Commonwealth companies. ¹⁴
• Privacy Act 1988
  This legislation protects the handling of personal information about individuals. This includes the collection, use, storage and disclosure of personal information in the federal public sector and in the private sector. ¹⁵
• Fair Trading Act 1995
  This law regulates fair trading in Australia and governs how all businesses in Australia must deal with their customers, competitors and suppliers. ¹⁶
• Commonwealth Modern Slavery Act 2018
  Under this act large businesses and other entities in Australia have a reporting requirement to identify and address their modern slavery risks, and maintain responsible and transparent supply chains. Practices that constitute modern slavery can include human trafficking, slavery, servitude, forced labour, debt bondage, forced marriage, and the worst forms of child labour. ¹⁷
• Corporations Act 2001
  This act is the principal legislation regulating business entities in Australia. It regulates matters such as the formation and operation of companies, duties of officers, takeovers and fundraising. ¹⁸
• Personal Property Security Act 2009
  This act established the Personal Property Securities (PPS) register which allows people around Australia to register their security interests in personal property to protect those interests, and to search to see if personal property is covered by a security interest that may mean, for example, it can be repossessed. Personal property can include items like cars, boats, furniture and machinery—almost anything except land and buildings. ¹⁹