"Our industrial relations system is being strained by the emergence of new forms of employment arrangements," Mr Albanese said. "While many people take on casual or similar styles of work for lifestyle or other reasons, others, compelled by financial necessity, have little choice. Loading "Instead they find themselves working unpredictable, fluctuating hours, with few or no protections and uncertainty about the size of their pay packet." He said Labor's industrial relations spokesman, Tony Burke, was developing a new framework, including "portable entitlements", which would acknowledge that an increased casual workforce could not be rolled back. But he said as a result of the changing face of job security, many workers were unable to plan ahead or make time to be with their families.

"These Australians deserve a greater sense of security," Mr Albanese said. He said for employers, non-standard arrangements could help with volatility or short-term spikes in demand for labour. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video Mr Albanese said Australians had close to 1.5 million secondary jobs, some with a median income of $9500 depending on the industry. Forty per cent of Uber drivers had a separate full-time job or owned a business. "Many Uber drivers adopt the platform precisely for the flexibility it provides," he said. "But let me be clear, we want people to elect to take on this form of work because it benefits them, not have it imposed on them. And not as a tool to de-unionise workplaces as a step to lowering wages and conditions."

In his first major policy announcement, Mr Albanese committed that a Labor government would establish Jobs and Skills Australia, which would mirror Infrastructure Australia as an independent body to advise decision making. Loading He said the body would drive improvements in the vocational education and training sector and strengthen workforce planning, particularly in the growing sectors of the economy. "Jobs and Skills Australia will be a genuine partnership across all sectors – business leaders, both large and small, state and territory governments, unions, education providers and those who understand particular regions," he said. "I want this to be a data-driven exercise, working in real time with labour markets technology – such as Seek and LinkedIn – to drive real outcomes." He said Labor would also host a Creative Economy Summit in the first half of next year to develop more jobs and opportunities in creative services such as architecture, design, software, digital content, advertising as well as cultural production including film, television and radio, music and performing arts.