Independent Contractors Act 2006

An application may be made to the Court to review a services contract on either or both of the following grounds:

the contract is unfair;

the contract is harsh.

A proceeding pending in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2) may be transferred to the Federal Court of Australia: see section 153 of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia Act 2021 and section 32AC of the Federal Court of Australia Act 1976.

An application under subsection (1) may be made only by a party to the services contract.

An application must not be made in relation to a services contract unless, in the year the application is made, the sum of the independent contractor’s annual rate of earnings, and such other amounts (if any) worked out in relation to the person in accordance with the regulations made for the purposes of subsection 536ND(2) of the Fair Work Act 2009, is more than the contractor high income threshold within the meaning of the Fair Work Act 2009.

Division 3 of Part 3A‑5 of the Fair Work Act 2009 sets out when the FWC may order a remedy for an unfair contract term.

In reviewing a services contract, the Court must only have regard to:

the terms of the contract when it was made; and

to the extent that this Part allows the Court to consider other matters—other matters as existing at the time when the contract was made.

For the purposes of this Part, services contract includes a contract to vary a services contract.

The effect of subsection (4) is that a contract to vary a services contract can be reviewed under this Part, as the contract to vary will itself be a services contract.