The Albanese government did prohibit pay secrecy clauses through the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Act 2022, which received Royal Assent on 6 December 2022 [1].
The legislation implemented these changes in two phases:
Phase 1 came into effect on 7 December 2022, when pay secrecy clauses ceased to have effect in all fair work instruments (including Modern Awards and Enterprise Agreements) regardless of when those instruments were made [2].
Employers who enter into employment contracts after this date containing pay secrecy clauses face civil penalties of up to $66,600 per contravention [3].
The legislation also established positive employee rights: employees now have the explicit right to discuss their pay and employment terms with other employees or third parties [1][2].
Employers are prohibited from taking adverse action against employees or prospective employees for discussing their pay or relevant employment terms [2].
For contracts created before this date, pay secrecy terms remain enforceable until the contract is varied or renewed, at which point a pay secrecy clause cannot be included [1][2].
First, while the Albanese government implemented and championed this legislation, the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Act 2022 was passed by the previous Parliament before the Albanese government took office in May 2022.
Second, the claim of "prohibited" is technically accurate for new contracts and instruments from 7 December 2022 onwards, but misleading regarding existing contracts.
Employees with employment contracts created before 7 December 2022 that contained pay secrecy clauses remain subject to those clauses until the contract is varied [1][2].
This means pay secrecy clauses continue to have effect for many existing employee relationships—they are not universally "prohibited" but rather prohibited in new contracts and unenforceable in new instruments [1][2].
Many employers may be unaware of the new rules, particularly small businesses, and enforcement relies on workers being willing to challenge violations.
Fourth, the legislation does not address all forms of pay secrecy.
第四 dì sì , , 立法 lì fǎ 并未 bìng wèi 解决 jiě jué 所有 suǒ yǒu 形式 xíng shì 的 de 薪酬 xīn chóu 保密 bǎo mì 。 。
While employment contract clauses are prohibited, other informal practices such as cultural norms against discussing pay, employer pressure to keep compensation confidential, and workplace stigma around discussing salary remain legal and unaddressed [2].
Finally, the legislation received $111.6 million in funding over four years to support implementation, but this was announced without detail on how funds were allocated toward education, compliance monitoring, or enforcement [1].
Wage secrecy disproportionately affects women, who are often unaware of pay gaps and unable to negotiate effectively without knowledge of comparable pay.
However, the practical impact requires qualification [1][2][3]:
1. **Partial prohibition**: While new contracts cannot include pay secrecy clauses, existing contracts from before December 2022 remain enforceable.
This means a significant portion of the workforce—particularly those with long tenure—may still be legally bound by pay secrecy clauses [1][2].
2. **Positive right vs. protection**: The legislation provides a positive right to discuss pay rather than preventing employers from discouraging such discussions.
The distinction is important: employees can legally discuss pay, but employers can still create cultures discouraging such discussions through informal means [2].
3. **Enforcement challenges**: The prohibition relies primarily on employees being aware of their rights and willing to challenge violations.
No automatic monitoring mechanisms ensure employers are complying with the ban on including pay secrecy clauses in new contracts.
4. **Gap between law and practice**: Cultural and informal barriers to discussing pay remain largely unaddressed.
Many workplaces still discourage pay discussions through non-contractual means such as workplace norms and performance management practices [2].
5. **Implementation timeline**: The change from December 2022 onwards means this is now an established element of employment law, but the impact is still developing as contracts are renewed and replaced [1][2].
However, it does not comprehensively solve pay secrecy problems because it focuses narrowly on contractual clauses rather than systemic cultural resistance to pay transparency.
The Albanese government did prohibit pay secrecy clauses through the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Act 2022, which came into effect on 7 December 2022.
The Albanese government did prohibit pay secrecy clauses through the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Act 2022, which came into effect on 7 December 2022.