Question - Industrial relations

1. What consultation has there been with the ACT hairdressing sector about the proposed expansion of the ACT’s Long Service Leave (Portable Schemes) Act 2009.
2. How was industry consultation with the hairdressing sector done, and when did it happen.
3. Which hairdressers, businesses and representatives were consulted, including how many and names of those consulted.
4. What was the result of such consultation including what feedback was provided.
5. Was a report compiled following the consultation; if so, can the Minister provide a copy of the report; if not, why not.
6. Is further consultation planned with the hairdressing sector; if so, can the Minister provide details of the planned consultation.

1 & 2

A six-week public consultation process on expansion of the Long Service Leave (LSL) Portable Schemes commenced on 6 June 2022 and closed 18 July 2022 and was supported by a consultation paper published at https://www.cmtedd.act.gov.au/industrial-relations-and-public-sector-management/wsir and stakeholder engagement sessions run on 14 and 15 July 2022.

3

In addition to the publicly available consultation paper, stakeholders from the hairdressing industry consisting of peak representative bodies for employer and employee interests were directly invited by email to review the consultation paper and participate in the stakeholder engagement sessions held on 14 and 15 July 2022.

Stakeholders directly invited to the engagement sessions included the Australian Hairdressing Council (AHC), the Hair & Beauty Australia Industry Association (H&B AIA) and Hair Stylists Australia Union (HSAU).

Written submissions received after 18 July 2022 have also been registered as part of the consultation process. Relevantly, this included three submissions made by employers in the hairdressing industry.

4

The feedback received from the hairdressing industry as part of the consultation process from both the written submissions and stakeholder engagement sessions can be summarised as:

• employee representatives advocating for the expansion of portable long service leave in support of improving conditions for working Canberrans, particularly in roles prone to  insecure working arrangements; and
• employers and industry peak bodies generally opposing the expansion of portable long service leave based on concerns about cashflow impacts and administrative costs.

5 & 6

The ACT Government is currently considering the feedback provided as part of the consultation process.

It is intended that a summary of the consultation process will in due course be published on the CMTEDD webpage at: https://www.cmtedd.act.gov.au/industrial-relations-and-public-sector-management/wsir.

Should any further public consultation be undertaken this will be subject to the outcomes of the Government’s consideration of the consultation feedback.