Defend your rights to be your own boss.
When it comes to your support services, you’re the boss!
The ’employee-like’ reforms could mean the loss of independence over the working arrangements for thousands of self-employed support workers who choose to be their own boss and operate as independent contractors.
Through the ’employee-like’ reforms, the Government is attempting to force independent contractors into the realm of the Fair Work Commission, the organisation that oversees employment arrangements in Australia, taking away their independence to work the way they want.
Millions of hours of care and support services will be lost if the Government limits independent contractors’ ability to work in the care economy at a time of dire workforce shortages.
More than 1.1 million people choose to be independent contractors in Australia. They’re working in every sector of the Australian economy. However, these newly proposed industrial relation laws could drive independent contractors out of the care and support sector by limiting their ability to choose their hours, the work they do, the clients they work with, and the ability to negotiate their own rates and terms.
The ’employee-like’ reforms undervalue the role of millions of independent contractors in the Australian economy. At its heart, it’s saying people can’t be trusted to be self-employed in the care sector.
Independent contractors have worked hard to establish their businesses, build strong relationships with their clients, and enjoy the freedom to choose how they operate. ‘Employee-like’ conditions put all of this at risk.
What’s at risk for independent contractors?
- Choice and control over the care and support services they provide.
- The ability to freely choose who they work with.
- The ability to provide services at a mutually agreed price.
- The ability to work the hours that suit them and their clients.
- The ability to self-manage their business, such as their super or leave. Instead, they’ll have to pay into a portable leave scheme managed by unions.
Join the #DefendYourRights campaign by:
- Signing the petition.
- Filling in the survey.
- Sending a letter to your MP.
- Sharing how these proposed reforms will affect you on social media.
By joining, you can have your say in opposing these misguided reforms and defend your rights to work as an independent contractor in the care sector.
Defend Your Rights
Sign the petition to defend the rights of contractors to be their own boss.
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Defend your right to engage independent contractors.
The Government’s ‘employee-like’ reforms will make it harder to tailor care and support to your needs.
Choice and control are under threat from the Government’s ‘employee-like’ reforms.
The reforms will remove choice and control from people with disability and older people when it comes to what services they receive, when and where they receive them, and importantly, from whom. This is not about setting minimum standards for independent contractors. It’s about the Government letting unions get in the middle of your care and support arrangements.
At a time when finding the right support is challenging, ‘employee-like’ reforms will drive independent contractors out of the sector. They will decrease how much people earn while increasing how much consumers pay. More government red tape means fewer hours of support, leading to worse outcomes for people with disabilities and older people.
The Government’s decision to introduce employee-like reforms is ill-informed and will negatively impact the care and support of hundreds of thousands of Australians. This is a change no one is asking for.
What’s at risk for consumers?
- Choice and control over the care and support they receive.
- Choice over who supports them in their home, including their right to engage independent contractors.
- The ability to end support relationships when it’s not working.
- The ability to pay for services at a mutually agreed price.
- The ability to tailor support hours around their specific needs.
- Having union officials seek entry to their homes (under workplace right of entry laws).
Tens of thousands of independent contractors are providing millions of hours of care and support to people in communities across Australia. All of these are under threat from the Government’s ‘employee-like’ reforms.
Join the #DefendYourRights campaign by:
- Signing the petition.
- Filling in the survey.
- Sending a letter to your MP.
- Sharing how these proposed reforms will affect you on social media.
By joining, you can have your say in opposing these misguided reforms and defend your rights to engage independent contractors.
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