Modern Awards

Modern Awards apply to very few employees in non-government education.

The overwhelming majority of IEUA members will not have their conditions of employment affected by the new Modern Awards which came into operation on 1 January 2010 as part of the new federal industrial relations system.

Most Union members are covered by a formal Agreement which has been approved by either the federal or state industrial tribunal. 

The area of coverage of such agreements in our industry is extremely broad.

For example almost every employee working in a Catholic school in Australia is covered by an agreement. Employees who are covered by an existing formal Agreement are not affected by the new Modern Award

What is a modern award?

Modern awards were created in 2009 as part of the new federal system of workplace rights. Modern awards contain the minimum rates of pay and some of the conditions applying to employees in an industry along with some conditions set out in legislation.

These legislative conditions for the most part are contained in the National Employment Standards (NES) set out in the Fair Work Act.

Together the NES and the modern awards constitute what is often referred to as the “safety-net” for employees. That is the absolute minimum pay and conditions that employers are obliged to provide to workers who have no agreement.

How were modern awards made?

The historic process of award making was not followed in the making of modern awards. Instead the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC) invited submissions about the content of modern awards from anyone who was interested. No evidence from members as to their needs or conditions in their workplace was allowed.

IEU representatives met with employer bodies to attempt to agree on the content of awards. The final awards represent some matters agreed and other determined separately by the AIRC.

When do modern awards start and what is the status of existing awards?

All existing federal awards (there are some exceptions but not in our industry) will cease to operate when the modern awards commence on 1 January 2010. Most state awards will continue to operate until 1 January 2011.

Which modern award applies to me and how can I obtain a copy?

There are 4 awards that impact on our members. They are:

Educational Services (Teachers) Award 2010

Educational Services (Schools) General Staff Award 2010 

Educational Services (Post-Secondary Education) Award 2010 

[Click on the award to download a copy]

In addition some employees, principally those employed by contractors as opposed to schools, may be covered by awards other than education industry awards. If you are in any doubt as to which award covers you your branch of the union will be able to assist you.

What happens where the pay and/or conditions in the modern award are different from that in the award that currently applies?

Members should firstly ensure that it is, in fact, an award which regulates their terms and conditions of employment. Many awards, including all federal awards, do not operate when an agreement is in place.

Where the modern award is effectively replacing your existing award there are complex transitional arrangements. It is very important that union representatives in the workplace and members obtain expert industrial advice from the union before accepting any changes to their pay or conditions.

The Fair Work Act contains a guarantee that employees employed at the time the modern award comes into force will not suffer any loss of income solely as a result of the modern award coming into force. It may be necessary however for the union to make an application on your behalf to ensure that this “take-home pay guarantee” is enforced.

How are the modern awards varied?

Every year a special division of Fair Work Australia sits to determine the increase to be applied to rates of pay. The increases are automatically added to the modern award rates. This process parallels the previous National Wage Cases or as they have been more recently known “safety-net adjustments”.

Modern awards are also able to be varied in limited circumstances. Significant changes in content however must await regular major reviews. The first of these reviews is scheduled for 2011.

What is the Union’s view of modern awards?

Chris Watt the IEU’s Federal Secretary comments:

While we are supportive of the attempt to create a single IR system for all working Australians that system must be fairer and better than those that it replaces. We are determined to ensure for example that the rates of pay in the modern award represent proper minimum rates not a cut price alternative for poorly performing employers. This is not currently the case. The modern award rates of pay for teachers for example bear no relation to rates actually paid in schools and don’t therefore constitute any sort of effective safety-net. This must be remedied on review.