Labor neuters building watchdog ahead of abolition   

Financial Times
Oct 28, 2022

The Albanese government has gutted the building industry watchdog of its right to police strikes and coercion on construction sites before parliament has had a chance to vote on legislation to abolish the agency.

The Australian Building and Construction Commission announced to the industry on Thursday that its duties enforcing the Fair Work Act, including laws on industrial action, right of entry, freedom of association, would be transferred to the Fair Work Ombudsman from November 10.


The government defunded the Australian Building and Construction Commission in Tuesday’s federal budget.

The gutting effectively leaves the ABCC an empty shell of an agency, with responsibility mostly for existing court cases, and follows the earlier scrapping of the federal building code, which banned restrictive union clauses.

Although the ABCC has its own laws on higher penalties for industrial action and unlawful pickets, its enforcement of industrial laws is because of an exchange of letters with the FWO that grants the watchdog responsibility to enforce the Fair Work Act in commercial construction.

However, the FWO on Thursday rescinded those letters.



A spokesman for FWO said: “With the government’s funding announced and the bill introduced, the exchange of letters has now been rescinded with the effect that from November 10, the FWO will resume compliance and enforcement work for all new Fair Work Act matters in the commercial building and construction industry.”


Outgoing Australian Building and Construction Commission commissioner Stephen McBurney. Eddie Jim

The government’s October budget on Tuesday defunded the ABCC and granted the FWO $70 million over four years to enforce industrial laws in construction instead. However, the additional funding is about half the ABCC’s total budget.

Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn said despite the IR bill still before parliament, the government “has chosen to starve the ABCC of appropriate funding to fulfil their duties”.

“This is a sad and inevitable outcome which highlights the nonsensical nature of the Government publicly announcing that Minister Burke will not fund an agency which exists within his own portfolio and still retains powers under the law regardless of whether the Fair Work Amendment Bill passes parliament.”

In an industry notice, the ABCC said that after November 10, employers could still contact the ABCC for advice and assistance on existing court cases and unlawful pickets. However, they would have to contact the FWO about any new matters relating to the Fair Work Act.

“If you have a current matter that is being investigated by the ABCC, you will be advised when it has been transferred to the FWO,” the notice said.

An ABCC spokesman said commissioner Stephen McBurney “retains his statutory powers and responsibilities until the legislation is passed”.

“In the meantime, from November 10, 2022, the ABCC will refer any Fair Work Act matters to the FWO for investigation and will retain responsibility for matters that fall under the Building and Construction Industry (Improving Productivity) Act 2016.”

The FWO spokesman said that the agency “will ensure that the transition of functions is as smooth as possible, noting that some functions (for example, ABCC litigation that is on foot) would only transfer on commencement of the repeal legislation that is now before the parliament”.

Better than that watchdog tearing the balls off the building industry.

Any boss who cannot abide by the rules can take the hits..... and deservedly so.  My son is a tradie - he's owed money by one, the ex's nephew is the same....