News & Events

Labour market testing guidelines for sponsoring overseas workers 担保海外员工的劳动市场测试指南

Author: Rebecca Macmillan If your business sponsors overseas workers, or may need to sponsor overseas workers in the future, you need to understand the new labour market testing requirement. 如果您的企业需担保海外员工，或者将来需担保海外员工，您需要了解劳动市场测试的新规定。 Labour market testing is a type of application criteria which means, you must satisfy the minimum requirements before submitting the employer nomination application. Failure to satisfy these minimum requirements will cause delays and can become a problem in circumstances where your business has an urgent role to fill, or you are wanting to nominate an overseas worker with an upcoming visa expiry. 劳动市场测试是申请条件之一，即在递交雇主提名申请前必须满足的最低要求。未能满足这些最低要求将耽误进程，而您的企业如急需填补空缺职位或提名一名签证即将过期的员工的话，这就会带来问题。 Period in which Labour Market Testing must have been completed 劳动市场测试的完成期限 Until 18 June 2018, the period in which labour market testing is required to be undertaken is 12 months immediately before the nomination is lodged. 在2018年6月18日以前，劳动市场测试的完成期限为提交提名的前12个月。 From 18 June 2018, the period in which labour market testing is required to be undertaken is six months immediately before the nomination is lodged. 自2018年6月18日，劳动市场测试的完成期限将为提交提名前的6个月。 These periods do not apply if there have been redundancies or retrenchments for the same or similar occupations in the four months immediately before the nomination is lodged in which case, the labour market testing must have been undertaken after the date of the redundancies or retrenchments.

You may not be exempt from new labour hire licensing laws

Author: Edmund Burke The genesis of Queensland’s new labour hire licensing laws was the systematic exploitation and mistreatment of workers on Queensland’s farms. But the new laws extend well beyond that industry. Many contractors and sub-contractors in the civil construction industry are likely to be covered by the new laws and could face hefty fines if they do not apply for a license before 15 June 2018. A few bad apples In 2017 media reports of seasonal farm workers stranded in regional locations receiving only sporadic employment and living in bug infested accommodation caught the eye of the Queensland Government. On 25 May 2017 the Labour Hire Licensing Bill (Qld) 2017 was introduced to Parliament and was intended to “clean up” the labour hire sector by establishing a mandatory business licensing scheme. The bill was passed by Parliament on 8 September 2017 and the new licensing regime started accepting applications on 16 April 2018. Who is a labour hire services provider? Under the Labour Hire Licensing Act (Qld) 2017 (the Act) labour hire providers must have applied for a license by 15 June 2018 or risk strict financial penalties. After this date host employers must only use licensed labour hire services or also face hefty

A valid reason to dismiss is not always enough (Workplace Relations & Safety )

Authors: Michael Selinger & Michael Hope Having a valid reason for dismissal was not enough to save two employers from being found to have unfairly dismissed their workers in two recent Fair Work Commission (Commission) cases. The cases serve as a reminder to employers that procedural fairness must be afforded to employees at all stages of the termination process, which includes: providing allegations of wrongdoing in writing for an employee to review (and being prepared to rely on these allegations or investigation reports as evidence in a trial) independently verifying the allegations of misconduct giving an employee the opportunity to respond to allegations of misconduct notifying an employee of the reason for dismissal prior to terminating their employment offering an employee a support person at interviews relating to investigations and disciplinary action. Jacqueline Waite v Serco Australia Pty Ltd T/A Serco Australia Pty Ltd [2018] FWC 3113 Facts In this matter a security guard who was photographed sleeping during a shift brought an unfair dismissal claim against her employer, Serco Australia Pty Ltd (Serco). During a night shift at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital the security guard fell asleep at various intervals for the majority of the shift. The

Legislative fix: Laws covering commissions payable to real estate agents set to change

Published by Alexandra Tighe The State Government of Victoria has now announced that amendments will be made to the Estate Agents Act which stipulates the circumstances in which commissions are payable to real estate agents. The amendments have been foreshadowed by Consumer Affairs Victoria and the Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV) to be released in the coming weeks. The REIV has stated that the ‘legislative fix’ is an excellent result for the REIV and its members. However, the result will be to the detriment of consumers who will presumably no longer be able to claim the return of commissions paid under the industry standard exclusive sales authority, which was issued by the REIV to its members, as approved by the Director of Consumer Affairs. You may recall previously we identified there were potentially significant claims which could be made against the REIV and/or the Director of Consumer Affairs by consumers or agents as a result of the non-compliant pro forma sales authority. The form was made compliant in November 2017, but commissions flowing from every real estate transaction in the recent times prior to that date were potentially susceptible to claims and at risk. Some industry insiders had even

Chinese Non-Performing Loans (NPLs): SAFE enhances pilot program to facilitate purchases of NPLs by foreign investors

Written by Anne-Marie Neagle, Xiaolian Zhang and Andrew Fei. On 29 May 2018, China’s State Administration for Foreign Exchange (SAFE) made several enhancements to an existing pilot program regarding the cross-border transfer of Chinese NPLs to foreign investors in Shenzhen (NPL Pilot Program). Pursuant to the NPL Pilot Program, foreign investors can purchase NPLs from Chinese asset management corporations (AMCs) and Chinese banks (regardless of whether they are based in Shenzhen) through the Shenzhen Qianhai Financial Assets Exchange (深圳前海金融资产交易所) (QEX). The NPL Pilot Program also allows Shenzhen banks to directly sell individual NPLs to foreign investors. Recent enhancements to the NPL Pilot Program – which include removing the program’s one-year time limit and streamlining the related SAFE filing process – are designed to make it even more efficient for foreign investors to participate in China’s NPL market. These enhancements are part of China’s efforts to address Chinese banks’ NPL levels, enhance overall financial stability and promote financial market reforms and innovation in the Greater Bay Area, which includes Shenzhen. Background to China’s NPL market and how foreign investors can participate Market background As China’s economy enters the “new normal” and undergoes significant transformations and reforms, Chinese companies – both private