The Australian Tax Office was recently found, in proceedings alleging unlawful 'disability discrimination', to have unlawfully dismissed a worker whom the ATO believed (wrongly) suffered from high blood pressure. 

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The Federal Government's recent amendments to the Workplace Relations Act introduce the concept of Award modernisation. Workplace Relations Minister, Ms Julia Gillard, has said that Award modernisation will involve drafting new Awards "from scratch" rather than "dragging old awards kicking and screaming into the 21st century". 
 

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In our April 2008 newsletter we discussed a recent case involving the ABCC prosecuting a principal contractor for allegedly failing to allow CFMEU to enter a worksite. In February 2008 the Australian Industrial Relations Commission addressed the other side of the issue, rejecting a union's appeal against a previous order refusing entry to premises of the Australian Taxation Office in Brisbane. 

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As a footnote to the Hopgood Ganim seminar held earlier this month about 'accommodating family responsibilities' in the workplace, on 21 May the Full Federal Court upheld an earlier decision of the Federal Magistrates Court, fining an employer $33,000 for breaching the parental leave provisions of the Workplace Relations Act. The fine was the maximum available under the legislation.

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