The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Employment, Workplace Relations, Skills and Training will hold a public hearing on Friday, 1 May 2026, as part of its inquiry into the operation and adequacy of the National Employment Standards (NES). The inquiry was referred to the Committee on 27 November 2025, by the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, the Hon Amanda Rishworth MP.
The NES set out the minimum terms and conditions of employment for all national system employees, alongside modern awards. Together, they form the safety net that underpins Australia's workplace relations system.
At the public hearing in Melbourne, the Committee will examine how effectively the NES protects employees in the modern employment environment, covering many topics from rostering, working hours, redundancy, caring responsibilities, parental leave, long service leave, personal/carer's leave, enforcement, the NES' interaction with modern awards and enterprise agreements, and accessibility of legal processes.
Having heard from the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, and the Fair Work Ombudsman, at a hearing on 26 March 2026, this hearing will broaden the Committee's understanding of how the NES operates for different groups.
Committee Chair, Dr Carina Garland MP, said the hearing would grant the Committee an insight into the perspectives of various employee groups and advocates, including trade unions, working women's organisations, legal and professional associations and advocates for employees with terminal illnesses.
'The Committee wants to find out how the National Employment Standards (NES) are operating on the ground every day for all kinds of Australian workers. In particular, it aims to understand whether the system is accessible, achieving its policy objectives, and keeping up with the realities of the evolving modern workplace 16 years after its introduction.'
The Committee will hear evidence from:
- The Australian Council of Trade Unions
- Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association
- Australian Services Union
- Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union
- Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation
- United Workers' Union
- Victorian Trades Hall Council
- Dr Amanda Selvarajah
- Working Women's Centre Victoria
- Victorian Women Lawyers
- Centre for Future Work
- Deakin Law Clinic
- McCabe Centre for Law
- Australian Labour and Employment Relations.
Further information is available on the Committee's website.
Public hearing details
Date: Friday 1 May 2026
Time: 11:00am to 5:30pm
Location: Victorian Trades Hall Council, Carlton, Melbourne. The hearing will be broadcast live at aph.gov.au/live.
