Tuesday, 1 April 2025

Wage Theft Amendment Bill 2025

Introduction and first reading

Danny PEARSON (Essendon – Minister for Economic Growth and Jobs, Minister for Finance) (12:07): I move:

That I introduce a bill for an act to amend the Wage Theft Act 2020 to repeal the wage theft offences, rename the Wage Inspectorate Victoria, confer new functions and change the title of the act, to consequentially amend other acts and for other purposes.

Motion agreed to.

James NEWBURY (Brighton) (12:07): I seek a brief explanation of the bill.

Danny PEARSON (Essendon – Minister for Economic Growth and Jobs, Minister for Finance) (12:07): The Wage Theft Amendment Bill 2025 will repeal Victoria’s wage theft offences and related investigative functions and powers in light of the commencement of the Commonwealth’s national laws and rename the Wage Inspectorate Victoria to the Workforce Inspectorate Victoria. The bill will also acquit recommendation 1 of the Wilson review of Victorian government bodies’ engagement with construction companies and construction unions by conferring a complaints referral function on the workforce inspectorate to allow it to receive and refer complaints from any person relating to public construction.

Read first time.

Ordered to be read second time tomorrow.