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

Senator KOVACIC (New South Wales) (11:19): Thank you, Minister. I'm a little bit confused by what you just said. In the same sentence you said nothing will change, but you did say, if I understood correctly, that there is ability to test existing exemption rates, which means that is a retrospectivity because existing exemption rates already exist and Australian small businesses effectively have those, or may have those.

If they can be tested, then that would mean that Australian small businesses would actually have to do something on the basis of those agreements being tested, even though they themselves and their employees are making no change.