WORKPLACE RIGHTS

Labor

• Labor points to its record of advocating for and funding wage rises for historically underpaid workers such as in aged care and childcare.
• It has legislated to protect the rights of casuals, provide minimum standards for gig workers, and outlawed wage theft.
• Legislation to stop employers using labour hire arrangements to undercut wages came into effect on 1 November.
• Labor has introduced paid family and domestic violence leave and the “right to disconnect” from work.

The Coalition

•  The Coalition vows to abolish many of the workplace rights and protections introduced by Labor.
•  They include the right to disconnect, under which workers can ask their employer not to contact them after hours, rights for casual workers, and equal wages for labour hire employees under the “Same Job, Same Pay” laws.
• Shadow Minister for Workplace Relations, Senator Michaelia Cash, claims the Albanese government’s reforms have been “disastrous” and have given unions “unchecked power in Australian workplaces”.

The Greens

• The Greens want more government action to help wages keep up with inflation.
• They say they will work with any future government to raise additional revenue to fund wage increases for “minimum wage workers in feminised care sectors, which have historically been undervalued and under-compensated”.
• They also pledge to support “roster justice” by amending the Fair Work Act to prevent “unpredictable, unfair, and short-hours rostering”.

HEALTH CARE

Labor

• Expansion of bulk billing and more urgent care clinics are central to Labor’s health pitch to voters.
•  Labor has already tripled the bulk billing incentive paid for pensioners, concession cardholders, and children under 16.
•  Labor promises to spend an additional $8.5 billion to expand that incentive to all patients from 1 November 2025.
• Labor has also promised to open another 50 urgent care clinics in the suburbs and regions by the end of June 2026.

The Coalition

• When Labor said it would spend an additional $8.5 billion on incentive payments for bulk billing, the Coalition promised to match that figure and raise it by $500 million.
• Regarding the healthcare workforce, the Coalition had said little or nothing about nurses and midwives when this issue of The Lamp went to press.
• The Coalition promised to “grow our GP workforce to address increasing shortages through new incentive payments, entitlements and training support.”

The Greens

• The Greens want big companies to pay more tax in order to fund expansion of Medicare.
• They say one in three big corporations currently pay no tax.
• The additional tax collected would be used in part to expand Medicare to dental care for adults.
•  When they held the balance of power in parliament in 2010, the Greens negotiated limited Medicare coverage of dental care for children.

AGED CARE

Labor

• At the heart of Labor’s aged care policy has been a commitment to improve wages in the sector. The federal government allocated $11.3 billion to fund pay increases over 4 years.
• Overall, our aged care members received pay rises of between 15 and 23 per cent.
• The federal government also legislated to make registered aged care facilities roster registered nurses 24/7.
• The federal government has also mandated care minutes and standards for nutrition.

The Coalition

•  Coalition policy is light on specifics but promises to fund “a sustainable aged care system that is flexible to individual circumstances and provides as much choice as possible.”
•  It says it will “address” the growing waiting list for home care, particularly in regional communities, and help old people wanting to access home care packages to stay in their homes for longer.

The Greens

•  The Greens say they will continue to push for a phasing out of for-profit providers and for “an aged care system that puts the rights of older people first”.
•  They advocate “low-cost and accessible pathways to qualifications for aged care workers”.
•  They will push for greater “accountability and transparency” by strengthening governance requirements and enforcing stronger whistleblower protections to protect residents and workers.