FAIR WORK (COMMONWEALTH POWERS) AND OTHER PROVISIONS ACT 2009 - SECT 3 Definitions

FAIR WORK (COMMONWEALTH POWERS) AND OTHER PROVISIONS ACT 2009 - SECT 3

3 Definitions

(1) In this Act—


"amendment reference" means the reference under section 5 (1) (b) .


"Commonwealth Fair Work Act" means the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cwlth) (as amended from time to time).


"department" see the Public Sector Act 2022 , section 10 .


"employing office" means an entity designated as an employing office, and empowered to employ persons on behalf of the State, under an Act.


"excluded subject matter" means any of the following matters—

(a) a matter dealt with in the Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 ;

(b) superannuation;

(c) workers’ compensation;

(d) occupational health and safety;

(e) matters relating to outworkers (within the ordinary meaning of the term);

(f) child labour;

(g) training arrangements;

(h) long service leave;

(i) leave for victims of crime;

(j) attendance for service on a jury, or for emergency service duties;

(k) declaration, prescription or substitution of public holidays;

(l) the following matters relating to provision of essential services or to situations of emergency—

(i) directions to perform work, including to perform work at a particular time or place, or in a particular way;

(ii) directions not to perform work, including not to perform work at a particular time or place, or in a particular way;

(m) regulation of any of the following—

(i) employee associations;

(ii) employer associations;

(iii) members of employee associations or of employer associations;

(n) workplace surveillance;

(o) business trading hours;

(p) claims for enforcement of contracts of employment, except so far as a law of the State provides for the variation or setting aside of rights and obligations arising under a contract of employment, or another arrangement for employment, that a court or tribunal finds is unfair;

(q) rights or remedies incidental to a matter referred to in a preceding paragraph of this definition;

except to the extent that the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cwlth) , as originally enacted, deals with the matter (directly or indirectly), or requires or permits instruments made or given effect under the Commonwealth Fair Work Act so to deal with the matter.


"express amendment" of the Commonwealth Fair Work Act means the direct amendment of the text of that Act (whether by the insertion, omission, repeal, substitution or relocation of words or matter) but does not include the enactment by a Commonwealth Act of a provision that has, or will have, substantive effect otherwise than as part of the text of the Commonwealth Fair Work Act .


"fundamental workplace relations principles" see section 4 .


"initial reference" means the reference under section 5 (1) (a) .


"initial referred provisions" means the scheduled text, to the extent to which that text deals with matters that are included in the legislative powers of the Parliament of the State.


"law enforcement officer" means—

(a) a member of the Queensland Police Service as defined under the Police Service Administration Act 1990 , section 2.2 ; or

(b) a special constable appointed under the Police Service Administration Act 1990 , section 5.16 .

"local government sector employee" means an employee of a local government sector employer.


"local government sector employer" means an employer that is—

(a) a local government; or

(b) any entity established under the Local Government Act 1993 or the City of Brisbane Act 2010 ; or

(c) a local government entity under the Local Government Act 2009 ; or

(d) the Local Government Association of Queensland (Incorporated) established under the Local Government Act 1993 ; or

(e) any other entity controlled by a body or bodies mentioned in a preceding paragraph.

"public sector employee" means—

(a) a person employed or appointed in or by a public sector employer; or

(b) the chief executive of a public sector employer.

"public sector employer" means any of the following—

(a) a Minister;

(b) a public service entity under the Public Sector Act 2022 , section 9 ;

(c) an employing office;

(d) a registry or other administrative office of a court or tribunal of the State of any jurisdiction;

(e) an agency, authority, commission, corporation, instrumentality, office, or other entity, not otherwise mentioned in a preceding paragraph, established under an Act or under State authorisation for a public or State purpose;

(f) a chief executive of, or part of, an entity mentioned in a preceding paragraph;

but does not include the following—

(g) a GOC;

(h) an entity mentioned in schedule 1 ;

(i) a chief executive of an entity mentioned in paragraphs (g) and (h) .

"reference" means—

(a) the initial reference; or

(b) the amendment reference; or

(c) the transition reference.

"referred subject matters" means any of the following—

(a) terms and conditions of employment, including any of the following—

(i) minimum terms and conditions of employment (including employment standards and minimum wages);

(ii) terms and conditions of employment contained in instruments (including instruments such as awards, determinations and enterprise-level agreements);

(iii) bargaining in relation to terms and conditions of employment;

(iv) the effect of a transfer of business on terms and conditions of employment;

(b) terms and conditions under which an outworker entity may arrange for work to be performed for the entity (directly or indirectly), if the work is of a kind that is often performed by outworkers;

(c) rights and responsibilities of persons, including employees, employers, independent contractors, outworkers, outworker entities, associations of employees or associations of employers, being rights and responsibilities relating to any of the following—

(i) freedom of association in the context of workplace relations, and related protections;

(ii) protection from discrimination relating to employment;

(iii) termination of employment;

(iv) industrial action;

(v) protection from payment of fees for services related to bargaining;

(vi) sham independent contractor arrangements;

(vii) standing down employees without pay;

(viii) union rights of entry and rights of access to records;

(d) compliance with, and enforcement of, the Commonwealth Fair Work Act ;

(e) the administration of the Commonwealth Fair Work Act ;

(f) the application of the Commonwealth Fair Work Act ;

(g) matters incidental or ancillary to the operation of the Commonwealth Fair Work Act or of instruments made or given effect under the Commonwealth Fair Work Act ;

but does not include any excluded subject matter.


"referred transition matters" means the matters of the making of laws with respect to the transition from the regime provided for by—

(a) the Workplace Relations Act 1996 (Cwlth) (as it continues to apply because of the Fair Work (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 2009 (Cwlth) ; or

(b) a law of this State relating to workplace relations or industrial relations;

to the regime provided for by the Commonwealth Fair Work Act .


"scheduled text" means the text set out in schedule 2 .


"transition reference" means the reference under section 5 (1) (c) .

(2) Words or phrases in the definition of
"excluded subject matter" or the definition of
"referred subject matters" that are defined in the Commonwealth Fair Work Act have, in that definition, the meanings set out in that Act as in force on 1 July 2009.

(3) For the purposes of the Commonwealth Fair Work Act , the Commissioner of the Police Service is to be taken to be an employer of law enforcement officers of the State.