The Morrison Government's closely-guarded IR working group process - which has included addresses by FWC President Iain Ross and fast food giant McDonald's - is nearing the point where it will become clear whether consensus can be reached between employers and unions on changes to workplace laws.
The Morrison Government has confirmed it is considering how the "temporary flexibilities" given to employers under the Fair Work Act to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic can be extended.
The newly-independent South Australian Senator Rex Patrick says he will now focus on job creation through industry policy and value-added manufacturing to help Australia recover from the coronavirus pandemic rather than "tweaking the IR rules" as sought by the Morrison Government.
The Morrison Government has eased the eligibility thresholds for businesses and employees to qualify for the JobKeeper wage subsidy program, largely due to the Victorian coronavirus outbreak that has shut down large parts of the State's economy.
The Victorian government will give major warehouses and distributions an extra 48 hours to comply with a lockdown requirement to reduce their staffing to two-thirds of their normal levels.
Melbourne employers and employees face fines of up to nearly $100,000 and $20,000 respectively for breaching requirements of the State's worker permit scheme due to commence with stage 4 restrictions imposed from 11.59pm tonight.
The Victorian government is poised to implement a system of written permits for essential workers, the production of which on request will be needed once a range of Melbourne businesses are required to close from midnight tomorrow.
The Victorian government has this afternoon unveiled "heartbreaking" closures and restrictions on workplaces requiring the stand down of another 250,000 of the State's workers.
US food delivery giant DoorDash will pay two weeks of earnings to its Australian-based riders and drivers if required to self-isolate, as part of a COVID-19 protections deal reached with the TWU.
