The general protections provisions provide protections for national system employers and national system employees, organisations and other associations of national system employers or employees.
It also provides protections in some circumstances for other persons, including employers and employees in state industrial relations systems, independent contractors and the persons who engage them (principals), state registered industrial associations, and other associations of state employers or employees.[1]
On the face of the provisions, the general protections regulate the conduct of all employers, employees, principals, independent contractors, industrial associations and, in some cases, all persons. However, the general protections only apply to the extent provided for below.[2]
The general protections provisions protect persons who are:
in respect of the following action:
that affects, is capable of affecting or is taken with intent to affect an employee of the employer, or
that affects, is capable of affecting or is taken with intent to affect the employee’s employer.[3]
The general protections provisions also have effect as if any reference to an employer or employee was a reference to a national system employer or employee.[4]