Thousands of labour hire miners across Queensland’s coalfields have secured a massive pay victory following a major ruling at the Fair Work Commission on the government’s controversial Same Job Same Pay laws.

The decision, released by the full bench this week, clarifies that a worker’s prior experience counts towards their pay rate classification following the implementation of a Same Job Same Pay order, which compels companies to pay labour hire workers at least the same rate of pay as direct hire employees.

For haul truck driver Loretta Bennett, working at the giant Blackwater mine west of Rockhampton, the win means an extra $6550 a year.

The labour hire worker took on mining giant BHP and labour services provider Workpac in the case, which hinged on whether she should be paid at a Level 1 or Level 2 classification after an order hit Blackwater in July 2025.

Workpac accepted the order to equalise rates between labour and direct hire miners, but a dispute erupted around Ms Bennett’s proper classification.

The mine operates under a 2022 BHP enterprise agreement, which sets a first-year Level 1 salary at about $151,000 and a Level 2 salary at about $157,000.

The agreement also states that two years’ experience pushes a worker from the Level 1 classification into Level 2.

Ms Bennett, employed by Workpac, started working at the mine in June 2023 and had accrued more than 24 months’ experience in the job.

But Workpac wanted to pay her at a Level 1, arguing that because the order came into effect in July last year, her rate should be classified from that point in time onwards.

The FWC torched that argument, finding that the “accumulated service, experience, skills and qualifications” of an employee should be assessed to determine the “relevant rate”.

“There is no basis in the text of (Same Job Same Pay) to suggest that the rate of pay that ‘would be payable’ should be determined by ignoring attributes of the employee simply because they arose from, or were acquired at, a time prior to the regulated labour hire arrangement order coming into force,” the bench ruled.

Further, it said ignoring prior experience would undermine the purpose of Same Job Same Pay to prevent labour hire workers from being undercut by employers.

“By way of example, if the classification structure … provided for a different rate of pay for an employee who possesses a specified qualification, it would not achieve the purpose of protecting bargained rates of pay if the fact of the qualification was considered in determining the rate of pay for a directly hired employee but ignored in determining the protected rate of pay for a regulated employee because the qualification was obtained prior to the regulated labour hire arrangement order being made,” the FWC stated.

Finally, the bench rejected arguments from BHP and Workpac that taking in prior experience would produce a “retrospective” application of the law.

“It would not require WorkPac to pay the rates under the BMA Agreement prior to the regulated labour hire arrangement order coming into force or otherwise afford any of the rights or entitlements derived from that instrument by reference to service in the past,” the FWC said.

“It does no more than take account of antecedent facts and circumstances as a basis for prescribing the rate of pay that must be paid for future work.”

The decision is expected to ripple across the industry and impact thousands of contractors at BHP’s Bowen Basin mines and Whitehaven Coal’s Daunia and Blackwater operations.

It is also likely to impact Workpac, which provides labour services to the state’s mining companies.

BHP has spent years railing against Same Job Same Pay, which it argues will degrade already-flatlining productivity in the industry.

The Mining and Energy Union, which backed Ms Bennett’s bid, applauded the FWC’s decision.

“This is an important outcome for labour hire mineworkers because it reinforces a simple but important principle that workers who turn up every day, build experience, contribute to production and perform the same work as everyone else deserve to be recognised and paid fairly for the work they do,” an MEU spokeswoman told News Corp.

“The MEU Queensland believes the ruling provides important clarity around the operation of Same Job Same Pay laws and represents another significant step toward fairness, dignity and proper recognition for labour hire mineworkers across the coal industry.”

BHP sold Blackwater to Whitehaven Coal in 2024.

Whitehaven, Workpac and BHP declined to comment.