Proposed building and construction division of Fair Work Australia – Discussion Paper

The Honourable Murray Wilcox QC has released a Discussion Paper¹ (paper) on the proposed building and construction division of Fair Work Australia. The paper follows a round of meetings held by Mr Wilcox with representatives of the building and construction industry, employer organisations, union leaders, state government officers, the president of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC), the commissioner of the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) and the Workplace Ombudsman.

The paper summarises the key issues that have come out of those meetings and reflects some of the tentative views of Mr Wilcox.

Mr Wilcox has invited submissions on the paper from all interested parties, regardless of whether or not they participated in the first round meetings. The paper includes a checklist of specific questions which he would like to form the basis of the submissions, although parties are not limited to making submissions on those issues alone.

Submissions are due to be lodged by 5 December 2008 to the secretariat for Mr Wilcox.

Freehills has an active involvement in building industry reform matters and has assisted numerous clients in implementing reform and also dealing with issues following the Cole Royal Commission. There are many aspects of the tentative views of Mr Wilcox which will be of interest to employers. It is highly unlikely that the ABCC will continue on as a division of Fair Work Australia in its same form and with the same powers and structure it has today. Any changes to the current arrangements will have direct consequences for the industry and will undoubtedly lead to changes in the way building sites are currently functioning.

Freehills is pleased to assist employers who wish to make submissions to Mr Wilcox. It is important to note that Mr Wilcox understands that publication of names or other identifying material can cause a problem and will permit applications to have submissions made under pseudonyms and for material to be masked.

If your company wishes to make a submission please do not hesitate to contact John Cooper or Jane Hodder.

Endnotes

1. Wilcox Discussion Paper

This article was written by John Cooper, Partner, Melbourne.

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