Leading chief financial officers have warned that the Albanese government’s industrial relations overhaul missed an opportunity to simplify the overly complex award system and could have “unintended consequences” for businesses forced to engage in multi-employer bargaining.

Wesfarmers CFO Anthony Gianotti said that while it was still “too early” to know how the latest incarnation of the Secure Jobs, Better Pay Bill would play out in practice, the conglomerate was wary of getting “pulled into the multi-employer regime”.