The Morrison government has abandoned controversial laws making it easier to deregister unions and ban officials as it eyes major industrial relations reforms.
But the draft laws were reintroduced, with the government insisting the harsh measures were needed to deal with misconduct in the construction industry.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Tuesday the government had decided not to seek a further vote in the Senate in a show of good faith to unions.
"The government maintains its complete lack of tolerance for the kinds of behaviour we have particularly seen from the CFMEU on Australian construction sites in recent years," he told the National Press Club in Canberra.
"It's not only illegal, it's costing jobs."
Mr Morrison wants to foster greater cooperation with unions as he seeks to reform workplace laws after the coronavirus pandemic.
Simplifying awards and fixing enterprise bargaining are key priorities for the government which is hoping to achieve consensus-driven workplace reforms.
Industrial Relations Minister Christian Porter will chair five working groups aimed at finding agreement between employer groups, unions and government.
The groups will investigate streamlining awards, which outline minimum pay and conditions, and getting "back to basics" on enterprise bargaining.
Attorney-General Christian Porter will chair five working groups on workplace laws reform. Source: AAP
The definition of casual work is also set to be reviewed after a Federal Court ruling last week confirmed long-term employees are entitled to leave entitlements.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said another group would look at compliance and enforcement on both sides of the worker-boss ledger.
"People should be paid properly and unions need to obviously do the right thing - as must employers," he told the National Press Club in Canberra on Tuesday.
Pay deals for the life of major projects will also be examined, with the concept floated on both sides of politics in recent years.
Aside from employer and union representatives, the groups will include hand-picked experts from small businesses, rural and regional backgrounds, multicultural communities, women and families.
The process is expected to run until September.
"The working groups will either reach something approaching a consensus on issues or they won't. But we've got to give it a go," Mr Morrison said.
"Ultimately it will be the government that will take forward a job-making agenda from this process."
Employer groups have complained about the complexity of awards, while workers have been ripped off across sectors in wage underpayment scandals.
Enterprise bargaining has been in sharp decline in recent years, almost three decades after it was introduced to negotiate above-award pay and conditions in return for productivity gains.
