SenateDivision 4 · 28 Aug 2025

Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Penalty and Overtime Rates) Bill 2025 - in Committee - Flexible working arrangements

Not passed12 aye · 29 no

What this vote was about

The majority voted against amendments introduced by South Australian Senator Barbara Pocock (Greens), which means they failed. The amendments would have made it "a right for all Australian workers—not just those with a school-age child, not just carers, but anyone—looking for flexibility to ask for it."

Amendment text

(1) Schedule 1, heading, page 3 (line 1), omit "Amendments", substitute "Penalty and overtime rates".

(2) Page 4 (after line 7), at the end of the Bill, add:

Schedule 3 — Requests for flexible working arrangements

Fair Work Act 2009

1 Subsections 65(1) and (1A)

Repeal the subsections, substitute:

Employee may request change in working arrangements

(1) If an employee would like to change his or her working arrangements then the employee may request the employer for a change in working arrangements.

Note: Examples of changes in working arrangements include changes in hours of work, changes in patterns of work and changes in location of work.

2 Subsection 65A(1)

Omit "relating to circumstances that apply to the employee".

3 Subparagraph 65A(3)(a)(ii)

Omit "the circumstances mentioned in subsection (1)", substitute "the request".

4 Subparagraph 65A(6)(c)(i)

Omit "the circumstances mentioned in subsection (1)", substitute "the request".

5 Paragraph 65B(1)(a)

Omit "relating to circumstances that apply to the employee".

6 Subparagraph 65C(1)(f)(ii)

Omit "the circumstances mentioned in paragraph 65B(1)(a)", substitute "the request".

7 In the appropriate position in Schedule 1

Insert:

Part 21 — Amendments made by Schedule 3 to the Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Penalty and Overtime Rates) Act 2025

129 Application of amendments

The amendments made by Schedule 3 to the Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Penalty and Overtime Rates) Act 2025 apply in relation to a request for a change in working arrangements under subsection 65(1) made on or after the commencement of that Schedule.

Context written by They Vote For You volunteers (ODbL), reproduced unchanged.

Committee of the whole: The Senate examines a bill in detail as a committee of the whole. Divisions at this stage decide specific amendments to the bill's text.

Related bills

Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Penalty and Overtime Rates) Bill 2025

By party

Party	Aye	No
Australian Labor Party	1	21
Australian Greens	10	1
Liberal–National Coalition	0	5
Pauline Hanson's One Nation	0	2
Independent	1	0

Every vote

Other divisions this sitting day

What the Senate divided on around this vote, in order.

28 Aug 2025Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Penalty and Overtime Rates) Bill 2025 - in Committee - Fair Work Commission's discretionSenate 25–34
28 Aug 2025Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Penalty and Overtime Rates) Bill 2025 - in Committee - Small business exclusionSenate 26–33
28 Aug 2025Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Penalty and Overtime Rates) Bill 2025 - in Committee - Regulation impact statementSenate 27–32
28 Aug 2025Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Penalty and Overtime Rates) Bill 2025 - in Committee - Mandatory terms must be not less favourableSenate 13–30
28 Aug 2025Committees — Selection of Bills Committee; ReportSenate 11–27
28 Aug 2025Committees — Finance and Public Administration References Committee; ReferenceSenate 27–33
28 Aug 2025Documents — Department of FinanceSenate 37–23
28 Aug 2025Documents — Covid-19; Order for the Production of DocumentsSenate 26–33
28 Aug 2025Budget — Consideration by Estimates CommitteesSenate 34–25
28 Aug 2025Budget — Consideration by Estimates CommitteesSenate 25–32