Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Penalty and Overtime Rates) Bill 2025

Senator KOVACIC (New South Wales) (11:17): Thank you, Minister. I guess there is some dispute as to whether that is actually the case. Primarily, the issue is that Australian small businesses could see current agreements reviewed based on the retrospectivity of this legislation.

So this bill actually applies identically to a small cafe with three, four or five staff as it does to a large multinational corporation with thousands of employees, despite having significantly different capacities to manage regulatory and HR compliance. On the basis of those concerns, would the government actually consider carving out or providing additional time to Australian small businesses as, as you have just articulated, you have done historically?