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The 'same job, same pay' test case ruling handed down by a full bench of the Fair Work Commission suggests the provisions extend beyond their intended scope, according to industry leaders.

Touted by unions as the most significant win so far since the Closing Loopholes laws came into effect, the decision greenlights pay rises averaging $30k per year for about 2,200 workers in Queensland, engaged at 13 coal-mining sites operated by BHP Coal.

Mining & Energy Union Queensland president Mitch Hughes says: "This decision reaffirms that BHP's approach of using labour hire to undercut bargained wages is no longer lawful and it's time to pay up... BHP can no longer use outsourcing and dodgy corporate structure to cut pay."

Viewed as the 'test case' for the provisions, since it involved some of the first applications for regulated labour hire arrangement (RLHA) orders that were opposed by the respective employers, it required the Commission to consider two distinct areas...