Will the Secure Australian Jobs Code impact your business?
Businesses that perform work which is directly or indirectly funded by the Commonwealth Government, or that are recipients of Commonwealth grant funding, may wish to keep an eye on the development of the Government’s Secure Australian Jobs Code (Code).
The Code was an election commitment made as part of the 'Secure Australian Jobs Plan' by the Australian Labor Party in 2021.[1] It was intended to establish guidelines for recipients of Government spending covering worker treatment and job security, wages and conditions, ethical and sustainable practices, compliance with the Workplace Gender Equality Act, and local industry workforce capability and capacity. While submissions to the consultation on the development of the Code are now closed, it is still worthwhile reviewing the Government’s consultation paper to understand how the Code may take shape (Consultation Paper).
While the Consultation Paper states that ‘a key objective will be to avoid unnecessary duplication or overlap with existing or emerging government measures’, it is clear that a key focus of the Code will be that it is used strategically to ‘encourage higher standards’ – presumably additional requirements that sit on top of legislative minima. The interplay between the Code and the Community Benefit Principles that will apply under the Future Made in Australia Act 2024 should also be considered by businesses interested in Future Made in Australia Support.[2]
The Consultation Paper raises several issues for feedback. These encompass a range of wide and undefined concepts such as what requirements should be considered or imposed to “promote and prioritise safe, secure and well-paid jobs”, although what constitutes a secure and well-paid job isn’t made clear. This leaves open the risk that these terms will be given substance via stakeholder submissions made as part of the consultation process.
The Consultation Paper canvasses that the Code could include requirements for contracting entities to demonstrate that they do the following (in addition to meeting minimum statutory requirements):
support safe and secure jobs that are well paid and have good conditions;
support addressing skills shortages and gender segregation in industries, for example, by complying with relevant government initiatives such as the Australian Skills Guarantee Procurement Connected Policy (for eligible Construction and ICT projects)
support freedom of association and representation in the workplace;
ensure a safe and healthy workplace, for example, by demonstrating achievement of industry performance standards in relation to work health and safety;
ensure that enterprise agreements used on government-funded projects are “genuinely agreed”; and
ensure that subcontractors and suppliers are paid on time and in full for work delivered.
The Consultation Paper also raises the question of what financial threshold should trigger the Code's application. By way of illustration, the Paper notes that a $20 million threshold would capture approximately 72% of Commonwealth procurement spending by value, while applying to less than 1% of all contracts. The Paper also seeks feedback on the extent to which head contractors should be responsible for ensuring their subcontractors also comply. For businesses operating in supply chains that service Commonwealth-funded projects, this last question is particularly significant.
The Consultation Paper canvasses compliance and enforcement mechanisms, including the possibility of pre-assessment certification, which will be familiar to some in the construction sector under existing State and Territory codes, and mandatory notification of non-compliance by funding recipients to the contracting Commonwealth entity – a feature of the now-repealed Code for the Tendering and Performance of Building Work 2016.
One question raised as part of the Consultation Paper is “how can the Secure Jobs Code best promote fair and harmonious workplaces, including in relation to agreement making?” This raises the spectre that additional requirements for enterprise agreements could be a condition for government-funded work or grant recipients under the Code. The Consultation Paper also raises whether there should be specific or special requirements for the Building and Construction Industry. Given the recent attention to industry-specific procurement policies in Queensland, such as the Best Practice Industry Conditions and the Victorian Fair Jobs Code Guidelines in the publicly funded construction sector, it will be interesting to see how the government’s policy lands in relation to this question.
[1] The Hon Anthony Albanese MP, Secure Australian Jobs Plan, 15 November 2021, anthonyalbanese.com.au, accessed 7 April 2026.
[2] See for example: the Draft Future Made in Australia Community Benefit Principles: Public Guidance, Australian Government Department of Industry, Science and Resources available at: https://consult.industry.gov.au/future-made-in-australia-community-benefit-principles-draft-public-guidance