The Bill amends the Coal Mining Industry (Long Service Leave) Payroll Levy Collection Act 1992 and the Coal Mining Industry (Long Service Leave) Administration Act 1992 to establish a voluntary payment arrangement scheme for resolving historical unpaid levy debts in the black coal mining portable long service leave scheme, including simplified calculations, partial debt waiver, and service record updates. It also replaces the defunct additional‐levy rate with a contemporary rate of 2 percentage points above the RBA cash rate target.
The Coal Mining Industry (Long Service Leave) Legislation Amendment Bill 2025 inserts a new Schedule 1 into the Collection Act 1992 to allow employers with historical levy arrears arising from eligibility disputes to opt-in, submit a draft and final arrangement specifying covered employees, service periods and unpaid levy (calculated using mandatory and optional assumptions), and to pay 80% of the assessed debt in six instalments over up to six years, with the remaining 20% waived. Employers must include an audit report and may apply for hardship extensions. On approval, relevant enforcement and penalty provisions (including additional levy, recovery actions and reporting obligations) are suspended for covered debts; a new section 39G in the Administration Act 1992 permits the Corporation to create or update service records using reasonable assumptions. Part 1 of Schedule 1 also amends section 7 of the Collection Act to calculate additional levy at 2 percentage points above the most recently published RBA cash rate target (or a rate prescribed by regulation).
The Bill ensures that workers in the coal mining industry can access their lawful long service leave entitlements by resolving decades-old levy disputes through a clear, time-limited framework. By allowing employers to enter voluntary payment arrangements with simplified calculations and a partial debt waiver at 80% repayment, the Bill balances fairness to employees with practical relief for employers—minimising litigation and administrative costs [Judgment].
Updating the additional levy formula to 2 percentage points above the RBA cash rate target maintains an effective deterrent for future late payments, protecting the integrity and sustainability of the Scheme without imposing arbitrary penalties. Overall, this approach restores just and favourable working conditions and promotes the efficient operation of the Fund.
Employers have had access to the standard compliance and review mechanisms of the Scheme and could have sought judicial clarification on eligibility without a government-mandated amnesty. Granting retrospective waivers risks undermining the rule of law by allowing non-compliance to be rewarded, and it may weaken future incentives for accurate record-keeping [Judgment].
The costs of the 20% waiver and administrative burden fall indirectly on compliant employers and the Fund’s long-term viability. A better solution would be targeted dispute resolution and strict enforcement of existing levy obligations, rather than blanket relief that shifts risk away from non-compliant parties.
2025-11-26
House of Representatives
Before House of Representatives
Unspecified
Employment and Workplace Relations
Labour, Industrial Policy