Portfolio — 21 August 2026

The Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Ms Rishworth, advanced a dual-track portfolio agenda across media releases and parliament on 20–21 August 2026, centring on workplace standards reform, wage growth, and gender equality. The comms stream signalled the next phase of regulatory consultation and gender-equality investment, while the question time appearance reinforced the government's legislative record and framed the opposition as a threat to worker protections.

**Construction standards consultation**

Ms Rishworth opened consultation on proposed Commonwealth construction standards and the Draft Joint Construction Industry Charter, with stakeholder feedback due by 16 October 2026 [TA-260821-dewr-952a229d4cc4]. The consultation targets workplace standards in the construction sector through a regulatory mechanism.

**Gender-equality reforms**

In a separate release, the Minister outlined a package of gender-equality measures: a ban on pay-secrecy clauses, a positive duty on employers to eliminate sex discrimination, and a two-year extension of the grant program for gender-segregated industries with an additional $28 million [TA-260821-dewr-c03d1fecb05e]. The measures aim to boost women's economic participation and address gender segregation across Australian industries through legislative change and targeted funding.

**Question time: wages, gig standards, and job protection**

In the House on 20 August, Ms Rishworth responded to a question from the Member for Cunningham by cataloguing the government's workplace relations record. She affirmed the government's commitment to safe, secure jobs and highlighted annual increases to minimum award wages throughout its term [TA-260820-house-7e3fe583b6fb:s155]. She pointed to the same-job, same-pay reforms delivering pay rises to thousands of labour-hire workers and announced world-leading minimum standards for gig workers so they no longer rely on tips [TA-260820-house-7e3fe583b6fb:s155].

The Minister highlighted government-funded pay rises for educators and aged-care workers. She described decisive action to protect over a thousand jobs at the Tomago aluminium smelter, framing the intervention as securing certainty for workers, the Hunter community, and sovereign capability [TA-260820-house-7e3fe583b6fb:s155]. She cited ABS data showing more than 1.3 million jobs created since the government was elected, with unemployment remaining low by historical standards.

**Opposition framing**

Ms Rishworth characterised the Liberal, National, and One Nation parties as a coalition opposing higher wages, calling this alignment the biggest threat to jobs and wages [TA-260820-house-7e3fe583b6fb:s155]. She criticised the Leader of the Opposition for labelling wage-raising laws as "disastrous" and for not supporting the Tomago jobs. She said the Leader of One Nation wants to "make it easier for bosses to dismiss workers." She concluded that only the Labor government is focused on helping workers get ahead.

**Synthesis**

Across both streams, the portfolio's approach is consistent: regulatory consultation on construction standards, legislative reform on pay secrecy and gig worker protections, and targeted funding for gender-segregated industries and care-sector wages. The question time performance reinforced the media release narrative by foregrounding tangible outcomes — same-job same-pay, gig worker standards, Tomago — while the comms stream signalled the next phase of reform through consultation and gender-equality investment.

The portfolio is simultaneously defending its legislative record in the chamber and opening new reform fronts through public consultation, suggesting a government preparing the ground for further workplace relations legislation.