Coach killer: Labor’s IR legislation crash tackles NRL and AFL

Major sports such as the AFL, NRL, rugby union and cricket say Labor’s industrial relations changes are unworkable for the clubs and competitions.

Australia’s biggest sports have hit out against Labor’s changes to industrial relations laws.

Australian sports are battling changes to the Fair Work Act they say will have a devastating effect, making it almost impossible to hire and fire coaches, employ younger players and fill a wide range of support positions.

Several sports organisations, including the AFL and NRL, have been frustrated by discussions with the Albanese government ­regarding looming changes in relation to fixed-term contracts terms and conditions.

From December, the new laws will limit the use of fixed-term ­contracts for the same role beyond two years or two consecutive contracts, whichever is shorter, including renewals. The provisions allow employers to use fixed-term contracts for legitimate purposes, while providing appropriate protections to employees.

The sports are concerned they will be caught out by the changes and have been locked in negotiations with federal government ­officials for several months but have become increasingly frustrated that no clear definition of sporting roles and club responsibilities have been included in legislation. One major sports executive said: “The unintended consequences of this legislation being introduced would absolutely kill sporting clubs at both elite and community level.

“We’re not sure the government fully understands the gravity of their actions and the flow-on impacts it will have.”

A spokesperson for Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke said on Thursday: “The minister is working with the sporting codes to make sure these problems do not occur.”

Fixed-term contracts are ­standard practice in sport, executives of the leading codes say, given that players and officials leave and join clubs at different points in time for varying durations. Any legislative changes that put that fluid nature at risk would be detrimental to competitions, the sports say.

The sports have called for ­exemptions to the act that would include reference to professional sporting contracts, including for specific events with an end date, such as a tournament, or subject to third-party funding or grants.

Roles such as players, match ­officials, recruitment staff, team managers, video and statistical ­analysts and community project officers related to sports competitions, teams and governing bodies should also be noted in the ­exemptions, the sports say.

Some sports teams have written to government officials and local authorities, saying “the legislation will restrict the use of fixed term contracts by employers, such that the club will be unable to engage its football department staff or its players on a fixed-term contract that exceeds two years”.

The letters, seen by The Australian, say that while some ­exemptions will apply they are ­“either insufficient to capture or unclear in their application to ­persons engaged in high-­performance environments.”

Clubs and sports say the ­process of player recruitment, selection and trade would be ­“completely undermined” and that in its current form the legislation would “have a devastating effect” on their sports.

The sports say the flexibility of the fixed-term contracts they ­currently offer players, coaches and support staff are integral to maintaining the facilitation of movement of players and officials between teams and assisting competitive balance between the clubs.

A spokesperson for the ­Coalition of Major Professional and Participation Sports, which represents the AFL, NRL, Cricket Australia, Netball Australia, ­Tennis Australia and Rugby ­Australia, said their organisation had been working with the ­federal government since the legislation was introduced to find a resolution. “From discussions to this point we understand the government appreciates the issues specific to sport and we are working through them constructively to find a resolution as soon as possible,” the spokesperson said.

Mr Burke has said the number of workers on fixed-term ­contracts has increased by more than 50 per cent since 1998. More than half of all employees ­engaged on fixed-term contracts are women; and more than 40 per cent of fixed-term employees have been with their employer for two or more years.