Employment Relations Amendment Act 2025

The Employment Relations Amendment Act 2025 (Act) has now been passed, effective 21 February 2026, implementing several consequential changes to the Employment Relations Act 2000, specifically:

• Contractor gateway test changes
• Lowering personal grievance (PG) remedies for contributing behaviour of the employee
• The removal of PG claims for high earners
• Rules relating to collective agreements for new employees.

For employers, the “to do list” given the amendments includes:

Review and update any contractor agreements.

1. The Act creates a new legislative gateway for contracting agreements. To ensure that the contractor is not an employee, the Act requires:
2. that the written agreement specifies that the person in question is not an employee but rather an independent contractor. 
3. the person is not restricted from performing work for any other person except for while they are working for the other party to the contract.
4. the person can subcontract the work.
5. the arrangement cannot be terminated for refusal of additional work.
6. the person had reasonable opportunity to seek independent advice before entering into the arrangement.
7. It is important that these new requirements are reflected in any new contracting arrangements that you make and that how contracting arrangements work in practice also aligns with these criteria.

Update the serious misconduct definitions in any employment agreements and policy documents.

1. The presence of contributing serious misconduct will now prevent an employee claiming lost wages and damages for hurt and humiliation if they bring a personal grievance claim in respect of dismissal for this conduct.
2. Employers should ensure definitions in agreements and policies are drafted to ensure maximum reliability for defence of any claims raised.

Update offer documents for new employees earning over $200,000 and set a plan to change current employment arrangements within the 12 month transition period.

1. Employees earning over $200,000 total renumeration will now be excluded from personal grievance rights for unjustified dismissal or unjustified disadvantage claims relating to the dismissal.
2. Employers will need to decide whether or not to exclude these new changes in the relevant employment agreements and can expect negotiation with new employees earning at this level over dispute resolution, as well as with existing employees in this income bracket during the transition period.

Collective Agreements for New Employees

1. It is important to update any offer documents/templates that are to be sent to future employees, if there is an applicable collective agreement in place.
2. Employees are no longer automatically covered by any present collective agreement for the first 30 days of their employment.
3. Employers are still required to inform the employee that the collective agreement exists, that they may join and how they can do so.

Our team of specialists are ready to help with bespoke and practical advice and solutions on navigating the changing employment law environment. If you need any assistance with updating your policies, employment agreements or offer letters, please let us know.

Disclaimer: We remind you that while this article provides commentary on employment law, health and safety and immigration topics, it should not be used as a substitute for legal or professional advice for specific situations. Please seek legal advice from your lawyer for any questions specific to your workplace.