Key Legal Changes for Businesses in 2026
As the new year begins, there has been a wave of legislative changes, regulatory updates, court decisions and proposed legislation that can directly impact businesses and individuals as we move into 2026.
In this article, we outline the most significant legal updates for early 2026, highlighting what has changed, what’s coming, and what you should be aware of.
- The Minn’s government’s Work Health and Safety Amendment (Digital Wok Systems) Bill 2026 has progressed to the Legislative Council. The bill calls to amend the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (WHS) Act to shield workers from harm caused by digital systems in the workplace. It involves imposing a positive duty on employers to ensure workers are not harmed (such as by excessive workloads or metrics) by digital work systems such as artificial intelligence tools, algorithms, workplace automations and other online platforms;
- Starting from 1 July 2026, all lawyers, accountants, real estate professionals and other relevant professions will be subject to the anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regime. This will impact client onboarding and interactions with strict procedures for identity and source fund verification;
- The Federal Court delivered several important decisions at the end of 2025 regarding set off clauses in employment contracts. The following cases of Fair Work Ombudsman v Woolworths Group Limited; Fair Work Ombudsman v Coles Supermarkets Australia Pty Ltd; Baker v Woolworths Group Limited; Pabalan v Coles Supermarkets Australia Pty Ltd (2025) 343 IR 340, resulted in several important findings including:
-
- Contractual set-off clauses only work within a single pay period and cannot be applied across multiple pay periods;
- Employers cannot “pool” payments over longer periods to show that they discharged their monetary obligations under an award; and
- Roster and clocking data were not sufficient records of an employee’s rate of remuneration or overtime as prescribed under regulations 3.33 and 3.34 of the Fair Work Regulations 2009 (Cth).
- In November 2025, the Treasury Laws Amendment (Payday Superannuation) Bill 2025and the Superannuation Guarantee Charge Amendment Bill 2025 were passed. As such, from 1 July 2026, employers will now generally be required to pay superannuation contributions under the superannuation guarantee at the same time that wages and salaries are paid rather than quarterly.
Conclusion
The above is not an exhaustive list of all the legislative and regulatory changes that have or are due to be implemented. However, the above outlines some of the prominent changes that have been implemented and that will have a direct impact on businesses and individuals in 2026.
The information in this article is for general purposes only and you should obtain professional advice relevant to your specific circumstances.
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If you or someone you know wants more information or needs help or advice in relation to these changes, please contact us.
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