DoorDash warns workplace bill will stifle worker choice

As part of the reforms, which are being examined by a Senate inquiry, the government wants to add protections for gig economy workers, and close loopholes that allow companies to negotiate a rate of pay with their employees and pay labour hire workers less.

But in a new submission to the inquiry, DoorDash said while it upheld minimum standards, the laws ignored the preferences of those working on the platform.

"(Workers) have told us that they have made an informed decision to choose this work precisely because it is different from employment and because of the unique benefits it provides," the submission said.

"As a result of this lack of consultation, the bill does exactly what Dashers have asked the government not to do, it turns them into employees in everything but name."

A survey of workers in the industry, commissioned by DoorDash - along with other gig-economy platforms such as Uber - found 43 per cent of workers on DoorDash would leave the industry if platforms were required to control when and how people could work.

DoorDash's Australian general manager Rebecca Burrows said the proposed laws needed to ensure the benefits of the industry for workers were upheld.

"DoorDash's strong view is that the bill in its current form falls short of the promises made to platforms, and most importantly, to workers themselves," she said.

The workplace laws would also include other measures including making it easier for frontline workers to access claims for post-traumatic stress disorder, along with greater protections for workers experiencing domestic violence.

While there is broad support for less contentious measures in the bill, the government has been under pressure for the workplace loopholes and gig economy sections of the proposal.

Meanwhile, the Business Council of Australia has urged the government to hold off implementing the bill, citing new legal advice.

The advice from top industrial relations lawyer Stuart Wood, commissioned by the Business Council, said the laws would affect casuals who would want to remain a casual employee.

"Far from closing a loophole, it's far more likely it will close down casual employment per se for many, even though it's a form of employment enjoyed by a significant and largely stable portion of Australian workers," the advice said.

Council chief executive Bran Black said the laws would add confusion and complexity to the employment of casual workers.

"This means pain for the very people the bill purports to protect - the many Australians who embrace casual work for its regularity, flexibility and additional pay," he said.

"Casual positions which would now be required to be part-time or full-time based on the proposed new bill would take an immediate 20 per cent pay cut. Some jobs may disappear entirely."