On 1 September 2016, the Senate referred an inquiry into the provisions of the Fair Work Amendment (Respect for Emergency Services Volunteers) Bill 2016 to the Education and Employment Legislation Committee for inquiry and report by 10 October 2016.   

The bill provides that an enterprise agreement cannot include terms that impact the capacity of volunteer emergency services bodies, such as volunteer fire-fighting bodies, to properly manage their volunteer operations. The Fair Work Commission would not be able to approve agreements that include such terms.

The closing date for submissions is 12 September 2016.