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

Senator KOVACIC (New South Wales) (11:20): Minister, I'm going to read you a quote from the ACTU's submission from the hearing a couple of weeks ago: The amendments will also apply to awards made before the legislation's commencement. This will enable unions to make applications to vary existing award terms, e.g. requesting the FWC— the Fair Work Commission— to use the new principle to remove exemption rate clauses or other loaded rates provisions such as annualised salaries where they have the effect of reducing the additional remuneration employees should otherwise receive.

Minister, can you please explain to me how this is not retrospective? I can't see how you can deny that this is retrospective.