Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee, , 2:44:15 to 2:48:33
Officials address whether new construction standards will require or preference union-covered enterprise agreements. The department cites ministerial statements asserting that the standards will not mandate EAs as a condition for receiving Commonwealth funding.
Topics: Workplace relations, Infrastructure
Speakers: Greg Manning, Sarah Godden, Senator Matt O'Sullivan
Will the construction standards rely on that exemption as well? Do you know?
Again, we'll have to change the witnesses. Sorry, we're covering a bit of ground, but I'll have the car to the table and we should have everyone here covered wherever you go on this particular.
Multifaceted.
God settles in though, but the government has made statements around not requiring EAs uh in relation to the standards.
Okay. So the construction standards, are they they're going to rely on that exemption, Ms. Goddard?
Uh Sarah Goddard, First Assistant Secretary, um safety and industry policy division senator. Um for the construction standards, no decisions have yet been made by government, but the minister has been uh very clear, as Mr. Manning has outlined that state she has made statements uh that there won't be that preferencing.
So um okay. I'm not sure I'd dispute the clarity because it it appears that the assurance in the first of May release does not
So uh so if we just if we just I think we're covering a few issues, if you like, that um we spoke about the amendments to section 354, which um have overturned a previous restriction. In relation to the standards, the minister has uh said on a number of occasions, for example, the standards will not require employees to enter an enterprise agreement covered by union as a condition of receiving Commonwealth Government funding, nor will the government preference union covered enterprise agreements when considering tenders for federally funded building and construction work. That reflects the fact that the standards, noting Ms. God's comments that no decisions being made, are intended to drive um good outcomes in uh federally funded construction work. That's the intention of them, how to lift up the standard of safety, productivity, etc. in construction where there's federally government funding. Separately to that, there's the Secure Australian jobs framework. Yeah, which won't the intention is won't apply to construction and also don't require an EA either. So there's a number of related issues, but in relation to both the standards and the Secure Australian jobs framework, um the government's been clear but they don't require an enterprise agreement to be in place.
So is the construction carve out going to be legislated then?
I'd go back to Ms. Godden's earlier answer. Government hasn't yet made decisions about how to implement the code. So again, Ms. God might run your own.
I mean, so does the would it require legislation for that carbon? Can it exist without it?
I I think it's a little early to determine Senator, but for example, uh the Minister spoke to uh the ACE Business Leaders Summit on the 13th of October and said these standards will not require employers to enter an enterprise agreement covered by a union to receive Commonwealth Government funding, nor will the government preference union covered enterprise agreements when considering tenders for federally funded building and construction work. So they're the sort of statements that I was uh referring to when I was referring to the clarity that the minister had, but uh we are still um the government didn't propose a predetermined scope or model for the construction standards and feedback from the consultation process that is just concluded is to inform the development of any uh model, including implementation. So um it's still early in those uh issues are being worked through.
Okay. Does the discussion paper canvas test that agreements uh genuinely agreed rules on subcontractors selection or limits on labour hire at all?