The Fair Work Act has been amended to provide “employee-like” gig economy workers with greater protections, including the ability to pursue better pay and insurance.

On Monday, major changes to workplace laws were activated as part of the government’s ‘Closing Loopholes’ reforms – a series of amendments to Fair Work legislation aimed at bolstering workers’ rights and protections.

Part of these reforms targeted minimum standards and protections for contractors in the gig economy – such as workers for rideshare and food delivery apps – who the Fair Work Commission can now treat as “employee-like” workers.

While there are specific conditions on what constitutes an ‘employee-like worker’ – such as having “little authority over how they perform work”, “receiving the same or less pay than an employee would get” and performing work “under a services contract through or by means of digital labour platform” – those who do qualify are entitled to unprecedented protections.

For these workers, the commission can make “minimum standards orders” (MSOs), which are effectively legally binding rules about pay and conditions, as well as less stringent “minimum standard guidelines” (MSGs) which are not legally binding.

These rules can cover a range of matters, including payment terms, deductions, record-keeping, insurance and more.

In the event an MSO is not followed, the non-compliant individual or business can face penalties.

Furthermore, the new reforms give the commission a better capacity to deal with disputes about unfair deactivation from a digital platform, and to offer protection against unfair terms in contracts.

“This is a watershed moment,” said Michael Kaine, national secretary of the Transport Workers’ Union of Australia (TWU), during a Wednesday press conference.

“This is a moment where the lives of transport workers in the gig economy, and the broader transport economy, start to change for the better.”

Gig workers wasting no time

While the Fair Work Commission can make orders and guidelines on its own initiative, much of the reforms’ efficacy will be achieved through applications – the first of which were handed in to the commission on Wednesday.

The TWU explained these first-ever applications made by “exploited food delivery riders and AmazonFlex parcel couriers” included a safety net on pay to ensure workers can “recover their costs”, earn a living wage, and be compensated for the “intermittent, uncertain nature of their work”.

Other entitlements in the applications included company-funded superannuation, safety training, and consultation and representation rights.

Just moments before handing in an application, Canberra-based food delivery driver Utsav Bhattarai – who has worked for the likes of Uber, Doordash and Menulog – shared how he’s been “deactivated”, “underpaid” and even “harassed” while working on such platforms.

“I have been in every situation that a normal worker shouldn’t be in,” said Bhattarai.

“We don’t have any personal leave, we don’t have any sick leave… we don’t get any breaks, there’s no safety net at all.

“Today is such an important day and I’m so proud that everyone here has fought so hard for these new laws and these new standards.”

Food delivery rider Helen told press she and her colleagues make “barely make enough to live” and the new standards would “change our lives”, while Zhuoying, a driver whose work allegedly “dried up” under food delivery platform Hungry Panda, handed in her application to a standing ovation by TWU members.

“There are those companies, like Hungry Panda, who’ve decided they don’t want to co-operate,” said Kaine.

“For those companies, we will see you in the Fair Work commission and we will hold you to account.”

Truckers on the road to rights

Regulated workers in the road transport industry will be getting similar protections – which the TWU says are well overdue.

“Decades of evidence has shown the link between low pay and poor safety outcomes in Australia’s deadliest industry,” said the TWU.

“Our applications attack the Amazon Effect that has seen transport supply chains squeezed by wealthy retailers at the top, while unregulated gig competition has ripped away standards from the bottom.”

The TWU reports over the past 10 years, nearly 1,800 people have been killed in truck crashes, and nearly 500 transport workers have died on the job – including 19 transport gig workers.

Under the new reforms, a coming application from truck drivers will call for fair payment terms in transport supply chains, with the aim of “preventing wealthy retailers, manufacturers and oil companies from passing financial risk onto operators and owner drivers on razor-thin margins”.

Other reforms which took effect Monday see a new definition of employment added to the Fair Work Act to help work out whether someone is a contractor or an employee.