Workplace relations are set to dominate when parliament resumes on Tuesday, the first sitting in this election year.
Employment Minister Michaelia Cash will reintroduce a bill to restore the Australian Building and Construction Commission - an industry watchdog abolished by Labor.
However, she will have to convince Senate crossbenchers of the merits of her bill, drawing on the results of the trade union royal commission's final report released on December 30.
The government is also hoping to quickly move into debate on changes to social security benefits and allowances to save the budget almost $600 million over four years.
Average Australians may also pocket savings, with a bill to stop merchants charging excessive credit card surcharges set to be debated.
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The bill was introduced to stop merchants charging consumers up to 20 times the actual cost of processing transactions.
On Wednesday, debate will resume on introducing a new common tax reporting standard for businesses, a global initiative to combat tax avoidance created by the OECD.
The Senate will receive inquiry reports on Tuesday into flag-of-convenience shipping, firearms trafficking and forestry managed investment schemes.
It is understood a review of the parliamentary entitlements system, commissioned last August in the wake of the Bronwyn Bishop scandal, is due to the be released shortly.
Other issues carried over from 2015 will be back on the table, including a merger of two top crime intelligence organisations, changes to the Murray-Darling Basin plan and insolvency law reform.
