EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

 

Select Legislative Instrument 2007 No. 22

 

(Issued by the authority of the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations)

 

Building and Construction Industry Improvement Act 2005

 

Building and Construction Industry Improvement Amendment
Regulations 2007 (No. 1)

 

The Building and Construction Industry Improvement Act 2005 (the Act) provides for improved workplace relations practices in the building and construction industry in the federal jurisdiction.

 

Section 78 of the Act provides, in part, that the Governor-General may make regulations, prescribing matters required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.

 

Paragraph 78(2)(d) of the Act allows regulations to be made requiring a building industry participant to notify the Australian Building and Construction Commissioner (the ABC Commissioner) of an application and outcome of the application made to a court under the Act, the Workplace Relations Act 1996 (the WR Act) or, from

1 March 2007, the Independent Contractors Act 2006.

 

Regulation 8.1 of the Building and Construction Industry Improvement Regulations 2005 (the Principal Regulations) relies on the regulation making power in

paragraph 78(2)(d) of the Act.

 

These Regulations amend the Principal Regulations to require building industry participants to notify the ABC Commissioner of an application made to a court under section 34 of the Independent Contractors Act 2006 where:

·        the application is made by, or otherwise involves, the building industry participant; and

·        the proceedings in which the application is made relate to building work.

 

Section 34 of the Independent Contractors Act 2006 is the only section that confers standing on the ABC Commissioner and ABC Inspectors to commence court proceedings.

 

Details of the Regulations are set out in the Attachment.

 

The Regulations commence on 1 March 2007.

ATTACHMENT

 

Details of the Building and Construction Industry Improvement Amendment Regulations 2007 (No. 1)

 

Regulation 1 – Name of Regulations

 

This regulation provides that the title of the Regulations is the Building and Construction Industry Improvement Amendment Regulations 2007 (No. 1).

 

Regulation 2 – Commencement

 

This regulation provides that these Regulations commence on 1 March 2007.

 

Regulation 3 – Amendment of Building and Construction Industry Improvement Regulations 2005

 

This regulation provides that the Building and Construction Industry Improvement Regulations 2005 (the Principal Regulations) are amended as set out in Schedule 1.

 

Schedule 1 – Amendment

 

Item [1] – Subregulation 8.1(1)

 

This item amends subregulation 8.1(1) of the Principal Regulations to require a building industry participant to notify the Australian Building and Construction Commissioner of an application made to a court under the Independent Contractors Act 2006 where:

·        the application is made by, or otherwise involves, the building industry participant; and

·        the proceedings in which the application is made relate to building work.

 

In its current form, the Principal Regulations only require the Australian Building and Construction Commissioner to be notified of applications under the Building and Construction Industry Improvement Act 2005 or the Workplace Relations Act 1996.

 

This item extends these existing notification requirements by omitting the phrase ‘the Act or the Workplace Relations Act’ and inserting the phrase ‘the Act, the Workplace Relations Act or section 34 of the Independent Contractors Act 2006’. Section 34 confers standing on the Australian Building and Construction Commissioner and Australian Building and Construction Inspectors to commence court proceedings. Section 34 is a civil penalty provision that prohibits a person from coercing another to sign an agreement that would remove them from the coverage of the transitional arrangements in Part 5 of the Independent Contractors Act 2006.