The Albanese government has been given the green light from party faithful to push ahead with workplace reform.
Union delegates spearheaded the industrial relations debate at Labor's national conference on Friday, sealing commitments to fair pay and working conditions as well as secure employment and a liveable minimum wage.
Employment Minister Tony Burke will take the first opportunity when federal parliament resumes in September to introduce "same job, same pay" laws, closing what he describes as a "labour hire loophole".
He used a speech at the Brisbane conference to outline the need to criminalise wage theft by employers.
“If it’s illegal to steal from the till, it must be illegal to steal from the worker as well," he said.
ACTU secretary Sally McManus said the sooner worker exploitation loopholes were closed the better, as corporate executives "pop champagne corks" amid record profits.
"(The laws) will help Australians dealing with a cost of living crisis and they will save lives," she said.
Labor has also pledged to take "all necessary steps to eradicate the hazard posed to workers by exposure to silica dust" after a push from the construction union.
Harmful engineered stone products, such as those used for kitchen benchtops, can result in deadly silicosis.
The government also came out of its foreign policy debate largely unscathed, after internal opposition to its AUKUS defence policy and a gathering storm over Palestinian statehood threatened to derail its agenda.
Unions and left-wing delegates wanted references to nuclear-powered submarines and the AUKUS agreement, which includes Britain and America, stripped from the policy platform but ultimately failed.
Defence Minister Richard Marles said he always believed the government could win the argument by explaining the policy's importance.
"And that's what we've done," he said following the debate.
Delegates also called for the recognition of Palestine to become a priority for the government, with a commitment to statehood already in the party's policy platform.
No timeline has been attached to implement the policy, with some pro-Palestinian Labor members pushing to have it expedited.
But pro-Israel elements of the party threatened to try and strip the policy from the platform if the other side attempted to alter it at the conference.
No amendments were moved and the same wording remains in the policy platform with no timeline attached.
Labor MP Susan Templeman spoke in favour of recognition, saying the actions of Israel's extreme right-wing government were "deeply concerning".
The Executive Council of Australian Jewry welcomed the decision to not change the policy platform or add "further hostile policy pronouncements".
It said Palestine did not exist as a state and any recognition would impact peace negotiations.
Delegates also voted in favour of the reunification of Ireland and reaffirmed support for Ukraine against Russian aggression.
Resolutions calling out human rights abuses in Iran and China succeeded as well.
Labor also pledged to increase the representation of the ACT and Northern Territory in parliament.
The three-day conference concludes on Saturday.
