Industrial Relations Act 2016

An employer must not do any of the following wholly or partly because an employee is proposing to engage in, is engaging in, or has engaged in, protected industrial action—

dismiss the employee, injure the employee in the employee’s employment or change the employee’s position to the employee’s prejudice; or

threaten to dismiss the employee, injure the employee in the employee’s employment or change the employee’s position to the employee’s prejudice.

Note—

This subsection is a civil penalty provision.

Subsection (1) does not apply to any of the following actions taken by the employer—

standing down the employee;

refusing to pay the employee if, under common law, the employer is permitted to do so because the employee has not performed work as directed;

action that is itself protected industrial action.

In proceedings under chapter 11, part 8 for an alleged contravention of subsection (1), it is to be presumed the alleged conduct of the employer was carried out wholly or partly because the employee was proposing to engage in, was engaging in, or had engaged in protected industrial action, unless the contrary is proved.