New financial year heralds new rules, from tax to worker rights

New elements of the Migration Strategy will roll out this week, alongside changes to the Pacific worker scheme as the new financial year ticks over.

A controversial biosecurity tax slated for this financial year has been axed, but a slew of other changes affecting farmers enacted by the federal government will come into force this week.

The new financial year brings with it a change in the rules for farmers who employ workers through the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility Scheme.

Facing pressure from unions to tighten the scheme to stop worker exploitation, the federal government has rewritten the rules, mandating employers offer 120 hours of work over four weeks from July 1 this year.

“If employers cannot do this, they must pay workers’ wages equivalent to at least 120 hours over four weeks. And if they breach that requirement, they will move to the requirement to pay a minimum 30 hours per week,” Agriculture Minister Murray Watt said.

Approved PALM employers were originally required to offer 30 hours of work each week from July 1, but Mr Watt backed down from this requirement in late May following vocal opposition from farmers who said the rule change would render the scheme too inflexible.

The Albanese government’s Biosecurity Protection Levy will not proceed as planned from this week after it was voted down in parliament in May.

The levy was originally designed to collect $52.8 million from the rural sector in 2024-25 to fund biosecurity activities at the border.

The new financial year has rung in lower tax rates, however the cuts won’t be as significant for those in the highest bracket as Labor promised ahead of the last federal election.

The government’s reworked stage three tax cuts have reduced the 32.5 per cent tax bracket to 30 per cent and increased the 37 per cent threshold from $120,000 to $135,000.

The 45 per cent threshold has risen from $180,000 to $190,000, while the bottom rate will fall from 19 per cent to 16 per cent.

New elements of the government’s Migration Strategy will come into effect, including a Workplace Justice Visa Pilot that allows temporary visa holders to remain in Australia for a short period while pursuing workplace justice.

Temporary skilled migrants now have greater mobility with the amount of time allowed in Australia between employer sponsors rising from 60 days to 180 days.

Meanwhile the second period of the Farm Household Allowance ticked over on July 1.

Farmers with turnovers of more than $60,000 can receive the FHA for 1460 days within a 10 year period. The first 10 year period ended on June 30.