"Sometimes, employers dismiss, or threaten to dismiss, employees if they don't agree to become independent contractors. This is against the law. "
And yet the scum EMPLOYERS will tell newbies that this is "normal" and if they don't accept it then they will never get a start in the industry.
Rather than name and shame here, why not go to the Fair Work Ombudman and the ATO and report this? The sooner these EMPLOYERS are forced to do the right thing the better. They are not only dodging the award but thier super obligations as well, and as for your workers comp and public liability cover, hope you have your own because otherwise if something happens they can try the second oldest trick in the book "didn't comply with the ops manual" (the requirement to follow it proving that you were an employee all along!)