Workplace Relations Amendment (Choice in Award Coverage) Bill 2002
First Reading

Workplace Relations Amendment (Choice in Award Coverage) Bill 2002
First Reading

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2002

The Parliament of the

Commonwealth of Australia

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Presented and read a first time

Workplace Relations Amendment (Choice in Award Coverage) Bill 2002

No. , 2002

(Employment and Workplace Relations)

A Bill for an Act to amend the Workplace Relations Act 1996, and for related purposes

Contents

1       Short title 1

2       Commencement 1

3       Schedule(s) 2

Schedule 1--Federal awards       3

Part 1--Amendments       3

Workplace Relations Act 1996       3

Part 2--Application of amendments       6

A Bill for an Act to amend the Workplace Relations Act 1996, and for related purposes

The Parliament of Australia enacts:

1 Short title

        This Act may be cited as the Workplace Relations Amendment (Choice in Award Coverage) Act 2002.

2 Commencement

       (1) Each provision of this Act specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, on the day or at the time specified in column 2 of the table.

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Commencement information
Column 1	Column 2	Column 3
Provision(s)	Commencement	Date/Details
1. Sections 1 to 3 and anything in this Act not elsewhere covered by this table	The day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent
2. Schedule 1	A single day to be fixed by Proclamation, subject to subsection (3)

Note:       This table relates only to the provisions of this Act as originally passed by the Parliament and assented to. It will not be expanded to deal with provisions inserted in this Act after assent.

       (2) Column 3 of the table is for additional information that is not part of this Act. This information may be included in any published version of this Act.

       (3) If a provision covered by item 2 of the table does not commence within the period of 6 months beginning on the day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent, it commences on the first day after the end of that period.

3 Schedule(s)

        Each Act that is specified in a Schedule to this Act is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this Act has effect according to its terms.

Schedule 1--Federal awards

Part 1--Amendments

Workplace Relations Act 1996

1 Subsection 101(1)

After "subsection (2)", insert "and sections 101A and 101B".

2 After section 101

Insert:

101A When Commission must not make findings under section 101

        If a party (the initiator) notifies an alleged industrial dispute under section 99 on the grounds that another party has not agreed to the demands set out in a log of claims that the initiator served on the other party, then the Commission must not make any findings under section 101 in relation to that dispute unless the Commission is satisfied that:

       (a) the log of claims was accompanied by a notice containing information of the kind prescribed by the regulations when it was served; and

       (b) the dispute was notified under section 99 at least 28 days after the log of claims was served; and

       (c) at least 28 days before the day fixed for the initial proceedings in relation to the dispute, the initiator served each person alleged to be a party to the dispute with a notice specifying the time and place fixed for the proceedings; and

       (d) the log of claims does not include any demand that:

       (i) requires conduct that would contravene Part XA; or

       (ii) an objectionable provision (within the meaning of section 298Z) be included in an award or agreement; or

       (iii) does not pertain to the relationship between employers and employees.

101B Findings in relation to employers in small business

       (1) This section applies if an organisation of employees notifies an alleged industrial dispute under section 99 on the grounds that one or more employers (each of which is a notified employer) have not agreed to the demands set out in a log of claims that the organisation served on those employers.

       (2) Before making any findings under section 101 in relation to that dispute, the Commission must give each notified employer a notice in writing requesting that the employer inform the Commission, within the period specified in the notice, whether the employer employed less than 20 people on the service day.

       (3) The Commission must not, in relation to the making of any findings under section 101 in relation to that dispute, determine that a notified employer, who informed the Commission under subsection (2) that the employer employed less than 20 people on the service day, is a party to that dispute unless:

       (a) the Commission is not satisfied that the employer employed less than 20 people on the service day; or

       (b) the Commission is satisfied that the employer employs a member of that organisation.

       (4) Before making an award in relation to that dispute, the Commission must give each notified employer:

       (a) determined to be a party to the dispute; and

       (b) who informed the Commission under subsection (2) that the employer employed less than 20 people on the service day; and

       (c) who the Commission is satisfied employed less than 20 people on the service day;

a notice in writing inviting the employer to make written comments on the proposed award within the period specified in the notice.

       (5) In this section, service day, in relation to a notified employer, means the day the log of claims was served on the employer.

       (6) For the purposes of this section, in working out if a notified employer employed less than 20 people on the service day, include any casual employee who had been engaged on a regular and systematic basis for a sequence of periods of employment of at least 12 months (but do not include any other casual employee).

3 After section 290

Insert:

290A Certificate to the effect that an employee is a member of an organisation

       (1) If a Registrar is satisfied, on application by an organisation of employees for the purposes of section 101B, that an employee of an employer is a member of that organisation, the Registrar may issue a certificate to that effect.

       (2) The certificate must not identify any of the employees concerned. However, it must identify the organisation and the employer.

       (3) The certificate is, for all purposes of this Act, evidence of the matters in the certificate.

Part 2--Application of amendments

4 Application of items 1, 2 and 3

The amendments made by items 1, 2 and 3 apply in relation to an alleged industrial dispute that is notified after the commencement of this Schedule.