The Rudd government has legislated for the creation of new modern industry awards, with a single award being established for each industry across Australia. This is a massive undertaking. Together with the new National Employment Standards (NES) the new modern awards will form the ‘safety net’ for workers who are not covered by an enterprise bargaining agreement (EBA).

Potentially some members in the private sector may be worse off under the new modern health award. If you are not covered by an EBA or your contract of employment does not lock in current award conditions then you may potentially forfeit some conditions of employment in the future. The union will assist such members in ensuring their current entitlements are protected. While there will be a period of five years during which existing award conditions are maintained, now is the time to act.