The Rudd government has rolled out its final list of workplace standards, promising stronger parental leave entitlements and enshrining redundancy rates for the first time.
The 10 National Employment Standards (NES) are expected to go before parliament in the second half of this year and form a major part of the new industrial relations system due by January 1, 2010.
They ensure matters such as weekly hours, annual and sick leave, redundancy rates, public holidays and other matters are set in stone through national laws.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said the standards would reintroduce fairness and flexibility to workplaces in contrast to the Howard government's Work Choices, which stripped basic work conditions.
"This is the first step in constructing this new system, important for the family pay packet, important in terms of the ability of working Australians and working families to deal with the cost-of-living pressures they are now under," he said.
Mr Rudd declined in parliament to guarantee that no worker would be worse off under the new standards.
"We're not in the business of those sorts of irresponsible guarantees," he said.
"What we can guarantee is a fair and flexible industrial relations system of which the government is proud."
The new standards represented a basic protection for employees and were fairer for workers and simpler for employers, Mr Rudd said.
The opposition is concerned the NES will increase the costs of employing people.
"(The NES is) very clumsily worded. The term 'reasonable' or 'unreasonable' is littered throughout the 10 national employment standards," opposition workplace spokeswoman Julie Bishop told reporters.
"Businesses will have to engage a lawyer to help them work out what is reasonable or unreasonable in dozens of circumstances."
Ms Bishop also attacked the government for failing to release economic modelling of the workplace changes.
"We will continue to demand that the government release the Treasury advice, or at least obtain advice that can be released, on the economic impact and the modelling around the introduction of these NES," she said.
Workplace Relations Minister Julia Gillard said the government had kept the public up to date with the changes all the way along.
She said 129 submissions were made to the exposure draft, and many were acted on.
"As a result of the submissions received, these national employment standards have been improved," Ms Gillard said.
ACTU secretary Jeff Lawrence said the 10 new standards provided the bare minimum that every Australian worker should expect.
"The Work Choices IR laws were riddled with inconsistencies and gaps which left many workers, particularly young, vulnerable workers, worse off," he said.
"It is good to see that the Rudd Labor government has moved to fill these gaps and provide an absolute safety net that no one can fall through."
Mr Lawrence said the government could have gone further by putting an onus on employers to give fair consideration to the requests of employees and for workers to be able to appeal unreasonable refusals.
"In the future, unions will be looking for improvements to these minimum standards. We will particularly be looking for a new basic entitlement of paid maternity leave for women workers," he said.
Australian Industry Group chief executive Heather Ridout said the standards had been improved through the consultation process and appeared to be workable.
"But clearly if problems are identified through the AIRC award modernisation process, the government should further fine-tune the standards," she said.