WorkChoices, or the Workplace Relations Act 1996 as amended by the Workplace Relations Amendment (Workchoices) Act 2005, came into effect in March 2006. The legislation is the most comprehensive reform to industrial relations in Australia for almost a century. Although the new laws are supported by employer groups such as the Business Council of Australia and the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, they are opposed by the Australian labour movement principally through the Australian Labor Party and the Australian Council of Trade Unions.
Following the 2004 federal election where the Liberal/National coalition gained a majority in both houses for the first time in decades, amendments were introduced into the House of Representatives on 2 November 2005 and were accepted by the Senate on 2 December 2005. The changes came into effect on 27 March 2006.