Mr Anderson is a respected former industrial relations lawyer who has worked for both Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Howard government workplace minister Peter Reith on industrial relations policy, but he is said to have turned down the opportunity. Sources familiar with the government's plans said at least one senior figure from the business world could be drafted in to assist the commission with the review, with the government seeking ''people with industry experience, not academics'' to review the laws. The terms of reference for the review have not been signed off by cabinet but will be finalised before the government's self-imposed March deadline. The move comes after Fairfax Media revealed the government urged SPC Ardmona to reduce workers' wages in exchange for government assistance and signalled it would give Qantas a debt guarantee while welcoming the company's tough stance on industrial relations. Mr Abbott was heavily critical of Labor's 2012 review of the Fair Work Act, which he said was ''conducted essentially by the department and, naturally, the government reviewing the government has decided that the government doesn't have a problem''.

The commission has six other reviews under way and there is a view in government that it would benefit from one or more outsiders being brought in. The commission has six full-time and six part-time commissioners, though the terms of two members - Siobhan McKenna and Wendy Craik - are due to expire in June. Industry and business figures suggested to Fairfax Media that the Australian Industry Group's Innes Willox, Australian Mines and Metals Association chief Steve Knott and former Liberal MP Sophie Mirabella could be brought in, though government sources dismissed all three. Speaking at Melbourne University on Thursday, Senator Abetz said his new bills were likely to be brought to Parliament next week, implementing the Coalition's pre-election promises on industrial relations. Among them would be changes to the Fair Work Act's ''individual flexibility arrangements'', brought in under former workplace relations minister Julia Gillard. The laws dictate how employers and their staff negotiate conditions, and Senator Abetz said changing them would allow employees ''to be able to work hours that suit them and their family-life balance''.

Senator Abetz confirmed, when asked about the changes, that they would allow workers to trade off penalty rates for family time. He stressed it would be employees who decided if this trade-off suited them, and not employers dictating that penalty rates be signed away. ''If the worker is better off overall as determined by the worker, why should some collective agreement seek to deny the individual that right?'' The union movement leapt on the proposed changes, saying they were the first sign the Abbott government would restore the sort of individual contracts that were the hallmark of the Howard government's WorkChoices laws. ACTU president Ged Kearney said the government had given employers the green light to cut wages, under the guise of greater flexibility. Loading

''This is a blatant attempt to cut pay and conditions … despite all the pre-election promises,'' she said. ''Minister Abetz talks about imaginary workers that want to give up penalty rates for nothing. We're yet to find a worker that thinks this is a good deal.'' Follow us on Twitter