Numerical Index | Alphabetical Index

WARNING:
This Digest was prepared for debate. It reflects the legislation as introduced and does not canvass subsequent amendments. This Digest does not have any official legal status. Other sources should be consulted to determine the subsequent official status of the Bill.

CONTENTS

Acronyms
Passage History
Purpose
Background
Main Provisions
Concluding Comments
Endnotes
Contact Officer and Copyright Details

 

Acronyms

ADF Australian Defence Force

ANTA Australian National Training Authority

AQF Australian Qualification Framework

ARF Australian Recognition Framework

ARTC Australian Recognised Trade Certificate

CTC Central Trades Committee

DEWRSB Department of Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Business

DIMA Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs

LTC Local Trades Committees

NOOSR National Office of Overseas Skills Recognition

PASA Pre-migration Application Skills Assessment

RTO Registered Training Organisation

TAFE Technical and Further Education

TRR Act Tradesmen's Rights Regulation Act 1946

TRA Trades Recognition Australia

VET Vocational Education and Training

 

Passage History

Tradesmen's Rights Regulation Repeal Bill 1999

Date Introduced: 31 March 1999

House: House of Representatives

Portfolio: Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Business

Commencement: On a date to be fixed by Proclamation. If the Act has not commenced within six months of receiving Royal Assent, it commences six months and one day after Royal Assent.

 

Purpose

The purpose of this Bill is to repeal the Tradesmen's Rights Regulation Act 1946, (TRR Act), which has provided for an alternative trade skills recognition procedure to the traditional apprenticeship system for certain trades, since 1946.

 

Background

The Tradesmen's Rights Regulation Act came into effect in 1946. As such, the legislation was one component of Australia's post-war reconstruction effort. It was designed to assist soldiers returning from war to resume their pre-service trade callings, and to allow those who had furthered their skills in wartime service to have those skills formally recognised. In addition, the Act assisted in regulating the numbers of non-apprenticed tradesmen(1) ('dilutees') working in industry.

However the functions of the TRR Act were later expanded, and, as the Minister for Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Business, the Hon. Peter Reith, notes in the Second Reading Speech for this Bill, the Act was amended in 1952 to provide for the recognition of the trades skills of migrants after their arrival.(2)

The functions of the Act have been further expanded by having the organisation which administers the Act, Trades Recognition Australia (TRA), make assessments of overseas individuals wanting to have a skills assessment in order to qualify under the immigration points system. Thus TRA is (indirectly) noted as the relevant authority in regulations under the Migration Act 1958 for the skills assessment of prospective migrants in most trades.

The TRA has assessed and recognised trades skills of those who, in simple terms, have not completed a traditional apprenticeship as a young person, but who have nevertheless acquired the relevant skills for that trade. These groups are:

• Selected Migrants (TRA selected)
• Non-selected Migrants (Not selected through TRA assessment)
• Australian Civilians, and
• Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel seeking to have their service skills recognised for civilian work

The TRR Act and its administrative arm have operated under a mixture of responsibilities between various organisations and entities involving, on the one hand, local trades recognition procedures and, on the other, skilled immigration.

A review of the TRR Act in 1995 recommended its repeal providing that new training and assessment processes were adequate to replace the role performed by TRA.(3) In any event, the TRR Act was identified for review under the Commonwealth's Legislation Review Schedule which determines whether legislation entails costs for business and/or restricts competition and whether the legislation should be retained, amended or repealed.

This particular review was approved in March 1997 and a Report of the Legislation Review of the Tradesmen's Rights Regulation Act 1946 (hereon referred to as the Legislation Review Report) was forwarded to Minister Reith, on 9 December 1998. This Digest draws on the review of current TRA arrangements provided in this report.

The Legislation Review Report recommends repeal of the Act, but with certain interim arrangements put in place to facilitate the change.

Vocation Education and Training (VET) Reforms

Skills training and assessment have been the traditional VET responsibilities of State-based training authorities, usually constituted through Technical and Further Education (TAFE) systems. However there has been considerable change in the 1990s with government policy requiring a national approach to skills development and recognition. The formation of the Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) in 1992 to coordinate reforms which would take place within State VET systems was indicative of the new trend.

Added to this have been the national VET training reforms mooted since the late 1980s under the then National Training Reform Agenda.(4) Some of these, such as the National Training Framework (NTF)(5) have materialised via committees of ANTA. Under the NTF, Training Packages have been designed with a national focus and with input from industry to essentially parallel (and possibly replace) apprenticeships and allow for training in new occupations. These packages are structured around progression through the Australian Qualification Framework (AQF levels).

The Australian Qualification Framework, agreed to in 1995, was designed to standardise training levels for new as well as traditional callings on a national basis. Note however, that according to the Legislation Review Report, the AQF system was not operating uniformly across all States and Territories.(6)

Progression through either competencies or years of a trade (and similar traineeship arrangements) is assessed and recognised according to AQF levels, Certificate 1 to Advanced Diploma. Private sector training bodies called Registered Training Organisations (RTOs)(7) can provide training alongside what used to be the traditional TAFE systems. RTOs under the New Apprenticeships system(8) provide training and the recognition of that training in the form of a qualification so long as the training arrangement falls within a Training Package.

The provision of trade training and the official recognition of the completed technical and on the job training through the apprenticeship system has traditionally been a State responsibility, administered through the respective Technical and Further Education (TAFE) systems. As well, Boards of Apprenticeships, under which an indenture contract between an employer and an apprentice is signed, are constitutionally established as State responsibilities.

However, as with other VET reforms, the administration of the traditional apprenticeship system and the new apprenticeship system are to be replaced by Federal/State agreement under a new arrangement called the Australian Recognition Framework (ARF). As noted in the Legislation Review Report:

The Role of Trades Recognition Australia

Under this range of VET reforms, the TRA provides national trades skill recognition in 49 prescribed metal and electrical trades (TRR Act trades) by issuing an Australian Recognised Trade Certificate (ARTC) to eligible permanent Australian residents who do not have formal Australian trade qualifications.(10) In addition another 135 trades are covered by TRA assessment procedures, although these trades do not come under the TRR Act.

The TRA caters for the recognition of tradesmen's competencies primarily in the metal and electrical trades. Tri-partite committees established under the Act, comprising employer, union and government representatives, assess applications for tradesmen's certificates, although assessments of individual applications are made by Skills Assessors(11) who are officials of DEWRSB and have had the appropriate trade training and experience.(12)

The TRR Act establishes Local Trades Committees (LTCs) and Central Trades Committees (CTC) for specified trade groupings. Each committee is chaired by a senior officer of the Department of Employment Workplace Relations and Small Business (DEWRSB) and comprises equal numbers of employer and employee representatives drawn from employer and employee organisations appropriate to the trades dealt with by the committee.

TRA Composition

According to the Legislation Review Report, the TRR Act does not specify the relevant organisations but by convention they have been the following(13):

Members are appointed by the Minister for Workplace Relations and Small Business following nomination by the relevant organisations.

The TRR Act covers six trade groups - Engineering, Boilermaking, Sheet Metal, Blacksmithing, Electrical and Boot Trades(14). However TRA has agreements with State Training Authorities to make assessments of overseas applicants for the non TRR Act trades.

TRA and Immigration

People seeking to migrate to Australia can seek a skill assessment and recognition of their occupation/calling under 'the General Points Test' of the Skilled Migration Program administered by the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (DIMA). The process relies on an assessment of the applicant's skills being recognised prior to immigration and recognition after arrival.

As well, the National Office for Overseas Skills Recognition (NOOSR) plays a role in assessment and recognition for the non-TRR Act trades and occupations. NOOSR was established in 1989 within the then Department of Employment Education and Training. Its prime role is to provide advice on the recognition of general, academic and technical qualifications. NOOSR provides advisory assessments of non-trade qualifications and skills for migration purposes.(15)

Related immigration reviews

The Legislation Review Report noted that a recent review of the skilled immigration program The Review of the General Points Test for the Independent and Skilled-Australia Linked migration categories by DIMA had a number of potential implications for skills assessment for migration purposes. These arise mainly from recommendations from that review:

• to adopt the ARF as the basis for assessments,
• to move to pre-migration application skills assessment (PASA) which will change the relationship between the skills assessment and migration application processes, and
• which might increase the level of demand for skills assessment for migration purposes over the current level (although still significantly below the higher levels of previous years).(16)

The outcomes of the business process review of the National Office of Overseas Skills Recognition (NOOSR) were also noted by the Legislative Review Report as having potential implications.

A schematic representation of the current domestic and migration paths for the skills recognition provided through TRA has been provided in the Legislation Review Report at page 9 as follows:

TRA's workload

The Legislation Review Report observed that the workload of the TRA had trended downward since the early 1980s, evident in the table presented at page 51.

	1982/83	1991/92	1995/96	1996/97	1997/98	Change 82/83-97/98
Selected migrant	3,367	2,439	832	620	527	-84%
Non-selected migrant	4,415	1,778	1,088	760	378	-91%
Australian civilian	2,112	786	568	490	265	-87%
ADF	248	246	148	110	48	-80%
Total	10,142	5,249	2,636	1,980	1,218	-88%

It noted that, although the total applications received in 1997-98 was only 1 218 and the number finalised was 1 385,(18) this does not include a backlog of about 1 000 applications.(19) In any case, and in light of the backlog, it was unlikely that TRA workloads would revert to their previous levels.(20)

The Legislation Review Report also observed that the mix of applications between the client groups showed a trend from Australian civilian and ADF applicants to migrants.

Within the migrant group, there has been a recent trend from non-selected to selected migrants, evident in the table presented at page 51 of the Legislation Review Report:

	1982/83	1991/92	1995/96	1996/97	1997/98
Selected migrant	33.2%	46.5%	31.6%	31.3%	43.3%
Non-selected	43.5%	33.9%	41.3%	38.4%	31.0%
Australian civilian	20.8%	15.0%	21.5%	24.7%	21.8%
ADF	2.5%	4.7%	5.6%	5.6%	3.9%

 

Proposed arrangements to replace TRA as recommended by the Legislation Review Report

Questions will no doubt arise as to what arrangements are proposed to replace the functions performed by TRA. It is considered useful at this point to reiterate the proposals to replace the TRA's role. The Legislation Review Report made the following recommendations in respect of new assessment and recognition procedures to replace TRA.(21)

Domestic Skills Recognition

• The TRR Act should be repealed and domestic recognition should be provided under the arrangements for skill assessment and the issuing of national qualifications, including the infrastructure of registered training organisations (RTOs), being put in place under the ARF.
• The review committee identified a range of implementation and transition issues which need to be resolved before a firm timeframe for the cessation of activities under the TRR Act can be identified. However, implementation details were outside the scope of the review and will need to be taken up in the implementation of any government decisions flowing from it.
• However, it would not be possible to cease activities under the Act before 1 July 1999. That date would give 18 months from the commencement of the ARF from 1 January 1998, over which time it is expected the ARF arrangements would be sufficiently implemented for domestic recognition purposes.
• In submissions to the review and in consultations with the review committee, some employer and employee organisations expressed concerns about the implementation and quality aspects of the ARF.
• Those concerns centred on the timing of the necessary Training Packages being endorsed and adequately implemented, and perceived deficiencies in, and inconsistencies between, state and territory training authority arrangements for the registration and auditing of RTOs despite the principles, standards and protocols of the ARF.
• Industry concerns about the registration and auditing of RTOs appeared to reflect the view held by industry that it should have a role in these activities. These are matters which industry should more appropriately pursue through ANTA. However, the committee was of the view that it would be appropriate for the relevant state and territory authorities to consider the role industry could play in the registration and auditing of RTOs.
• In general, comments on the interim report from most key stakeholders supported, or at least acknowledged the logic behind, the proposed approach to domestic skill assessment.
• If a similar function to that currently carried out under the TRR Act was to continue through the Commonwealth Government, new legislation should be enacted to overcome deficiencies in the TRR Act and its administrative arrangements. (22)

Proposed Approach to Migration Skills Assessment

In essence the Legislation Review Report proposed a similar arrangement with the assessment and recognition of skills and qualifications for migration purposes. The important difference is the proposal for a government managing agent, to be located in NOOSR, which would be the 'relevant Australian authority' under Migration Regulations. This agent would engage selected RTOs on a competitive tendering basis to undertake assessments for the purposes of migration applications. As the Report says:

• It would be appropriate for the arrangements and infrastructure developing under the ARF to ultimately directly provide the means for skills assessments for migration purposes.
• This would entail RTOs which met certain criteria being designated under the Migration Regulations as relevant Australian authorities for the purposes of migration skills assessment. The ARF requirements for registration as an RTO together with the requirements for designation as a relevant Australian authority would provide a dual level of quality control.
• This approach would rely on the availability of appropriate service providers emerging from the market. Despite a possible increase in demand for migration skills assessment arising from the review of the general points test, the demand will continue to be relatively low and there is a risk in respect of the number and range of providers which might emerge. On balance, however, there is an adequate likelihood that appropriate niche providers will emerge.
• Because of this risk, industry concerns about the need for the ARF to bed down and RTOs to develop experience in overseas skill assessments, the move to PASA and DIMA's preference for a single point of contact in the early stages and its concern about the public interest; the move to the proposed ultimate outcome would need to be phased in through an interim approach which maintained a coordination role for the Commonwealth Government until there is sufficient confidence in direct service provision under the ARF.
• This would entail prospective migrants overseas seeking skills assessment for migration purposes through a government managing agent which would be the relevant Australian authority under the Migration Regulations and which would engage selected RTOs on a competitive tendering basis to undertake the assessments.
• Included in the criteria for selecting appropriate RTOs should be a linkage between their assessment for migration purposes and providing domestic recognition through the issuing of a national qualification under the ARF with a minimum of additional process and cost. Other relevant criteria should address process, expertise, experience, price and service standards.
• It would be appropriate to establish a broad-based consultative committee, comprising DIMA, industry and community representatives, which the government managing agent would consult on the criteria for selecting RTOs and in monitoring their performance. Bodies represented on the committee should bear their own costs of participation.
• The government managing agent would not undertake any direct assessment or recognition activity and it should operate on a full total cost recovery basis.
• The review committee identified a range of implementation and transition issues which need to be resolved before a firm timeframe can be established for the cessation of TRA's current role in skills assessment for migration purposes and the commencement of operation of the government managing agent. Implementation details were outside the scope of the review and will need to be taken up in the implementation of any government decisions flowing from it.
• However, it would not be possible to put the proposed changes in place before 1 July 1999 and this would coincide with the commencement of PASA.
• The government managing agent should operate until the ARF infrastructure has developed further, and been tested against its quality assurance benchmarks, and a core of RTOs develop sufficient experience in overseas skill assessments. It may then be appropriate for skill assessments for migration purposes to be directly undertaken by appropriate RTOs without the participation of the managing agent.
• On the basis of the views expressed by a number of parties, it would appear that this is unlikely to be appropriate before the middle of 2000 and that may be an appropriate time to review the continued need for the government managing agent.
• The role of the proposed managing agent is compatible with that of NOOSR in respect of the assessment of professional and para-professional qualifications by external assessment bodies and is consistent with NOOSR's overarching policy role in respect of migrant skills. Consequently, if the function is not to remain with DEWRSB, consideration should be given to locating the proposed managing agent within NOOSR.
• In reaching its conclusions, the committee paid particular attention to the issues raised by the industry parties to the TRR Act about the infancy of the ARF and the need for its quality assurance mechanisms to be tested over time.
• These issues are more critical in the context of migration skill assessment, and the committee has recognised the potential risks involved. It is in response to the potential risks that the committee has proposed the phased approach in its recommendations.
• The committee is confident that its recommendations provide an adequate framework for ensuring there is no diminution in the fairness, integrity or quality of the assessment process and its outcomes. It is supported in this view by the general thrust of most of the comments it received on the interim report.(23)

Main Provisions

Clause 2 provides that the Act commences on a date to be fixed by Proclamation. If the Act has not commenced within six months of receiving Royal Assent, it commences six months and one day after Royal Assent.

Clause 3 provides that each Act specified in a Schedule is amended or repealed according to the items in the Schedule.

Clause 4 provides that the Governor-General may make regulations prescribing matters under the Tradesmen's Rights Regulation Repeal Act 1999, including regulations making transitional provisions related to the repeal of the TRR Act.

Schedule 1--Repeal

Schedule 1 proposes to repeal the TRR Act.

The Long Title of the TRR Act sets out the purpose of that Act: "An Act to make provisions in relation to the Regulation of Tradesmen's Rights of Employment in certain Trades, and Employment of Members of the Forces in those Trades, and for other purposes." The Act provides for trade skills assessment of persons in the following trade groups: Engineering, Boilermaking, Sheet Metal, Blacksmithing, Electrical and Boot Trades. For the sake of accuracy, this Digest replicates the gender specific language used in the Act.

Schedules to the Act set out the trade classifications which constitute Engineering Trades (Schedule 1), Boilermaking Trades (Schedule 2), Blacksmithing Trades (Schedule 3), Electrical Trades (Schedule 4), Sheet Metal Trades (Schedule 5) and Boot Trades (Schedule 6). For example, fitters, turners and pattern makers, amongst others, are included in the Engineering Trades (Schedule 1).

The provisions of Parts II to VIA provide recognition of trade experience gained through apprenticeships, training (including on the job experience), and training in the Australian Defence Forces. A person with relevant training or experience may be granted a certificate which recognises their particular trade skills. Their training is assessed by committees established under the Act.

Local Committees in each state may recognise persons as tradesmen, probationary tradesmen and trainee tradesmen (section 41). A Central Committee for each trade supervises the Local Committees, and may determine matters referred to it by a Local Committee. The powers of each Central Committee also include a power to determine classes of persons to whom certificates may be granted (section 34).

The 1998 Legislation Review Report on the Tradesmen's Rights Regulation Act identified the following provisions as obsolete: those relating to Boilermaking (Part III), Blacksmithing (Part IV), Sheet Metal (Part VI) and Boot trades (Part VIA).(24) The former three were identified as obsolete because in 1989, the Boilermaking, Sheet Metal and Blacksmithing committees, though remaining as three discrete committees, began meeting jointly with a rationalised co-membership. The latter was identified as obsolete because appointments to the Local and Central (Boot) Trades Committees were revoked following the 1989 review of the Act.(25)

The Legislation Review Report also identified certificates issued under the National Security (Trades) Regulations as obsolete. Although the National Security Act 1939 was repealed by the Statute Law Revision Act 1950, the TRR Act continues to classify certificates under regulations under the National Security Act as "certificates of recognition as a recognized tradesman" (section 10 of Part II, and the equivalent provisions in Parts III to VIA).(26)

The Tradesmen's Rights Regulation Act also defines persons employed as tradespeople prior to 8 May 1940 as "recognized tradesmen" (in section 10 of Part II, and the equivalent provisions in Parts III to VIA) although the Legislation Review Report identified these provisions as obsolete.(27)

The Legislation Review Report also identified the recognition of skills acquired through military service during the Second World War (in section 10 of Part II and the equivalent provisions in Parts III to VIA) as obsolete.(28)

Another concern of the Legislation Review Report was that the Act refers to legislation which no longer exists.(29) For example, the Preamble refers to the National Security Act, which, as stated above, was repealed by the Statute Law Revision Act 1950. Section 6 uses definitions of "member of the Forces" and "the war" that refer to the Re-establishment and Employment Act 1945-52, and section 7A also refers to this Act. The Statute Stocktake Bill 1999 proposes to repeal the Re-establishment and Employment Act as it is considered to be redundant.(30)

Schedule 2--Consequential amendment

Schedule 2 makes a consequential amendment to the Sea Installations Act 1987. Section 45 of the Sea Installations Act lists those Acts which apply in areas adjacent to where sea installations have been installed, or are being installed, as if those areas are part of the Commonwealth. The TRR Act is one of these Acts. The proposed amendment removes it from the Schedule so that it will not apply.

Concluding Comments

The Report of the Legislation Review of the Tradesmen's Rights Regulation Act 1946 makes a compelling case for the repeal of the TRR Act and the cessation of the current role of Trades Recognition Australia. This is particularly so in light of TRA's declining workload and the use being made of the new training system which is soon to become pervasive across industry, based mainly around the Australian Qualification Framework, Registered Training Organisations and the Australian Recognition Framework.

The issues which the Legislation Review Report give rise to are likely to focus on the proposed alternative paths to skills and qualification recognition. A blueprint for this recognition of skills and qualifications has been made in respect of the trades and equivalent occupations, but no regard is given to the broader task of skills recognition for professionals and their equivalents. In the case of overseas professionals seeking to have their skills recognised, it is proposed that they will be referred to the National Office of Overseas Skills Recognition through Australian Embassies and High Commissions.

However NOOSR plays a different role to the TRA in so far as it provides advice to applicants about appropriate pathways to be followed to have their qualifications recognised. Such guidance is likely to direct applicants to the advice of professional bodies, boards and associations as to how their skills might be recognised. And it is in these service-related occupations where the growth is taking place in a new structure of the workforce. In short, critics of the reform might point to dual standards for the blue collar occupations on the one hand (through RTOs, ARF and so on) and for professional occupations, qualification and skill assessment which still rely, ultimately, on the views of professional associations and boards. Recent demonstrations by overseas trained and qualified medical practitioners possibly indicate a need for reform at the higher end of the labour market in respect of skills recognition.

The Minister, in his Second Reading Speech, referred to the minimal savings ($500 000) to the Commonwealth involved in the repeal of the TRR Act. The Legislation Review Report noted that the TRR Act had not imposed costs on business.(31) It is therefore unlikely that its repeal will lift any costs from business, nor much in the way of red tape. Any costs on business imposed by the TRR Act pale into insignificance when compared with business costs such as payroll tax.

One final and interesting outcome of the debate concerns skill assessment. The parliamentary debates over the Workplace Relations Legislation Amendment (Youth Employment) Bill 1998 raised issues about the moves to competency (or non-discriminatory) based agreement and award classifications for the employment of workers focusing on those under the age of 21 years. The Government argues that payment of wages according to a young person's age is appropriate because of the difficulties involved in moving to alternative pay structures, such as competency-based systems. The skills and qualifications system which has been used in TRA trades recognition and is proposed to be used under the ARF system is competency-based assessment in a refined state at least in comparison to an equivalent system based on age.

 

Endnotes

 

2. The Digest uses the gender specific terminology of the Act.

3. Tradesmen's Rights Regulation Repeal Bill 1999, Second Reading Speech, The Hon. Peter Reith, House of Representatives, Hansard, 31 March 1999, p. 4041.

4. ibid.

5. The National Training Reform Agenda (NTRA) is the term used to describe a loose collection of policy initiatives agreed by Commonwealth, State and Territory Government which commenced in the late 1980s directed at improving the quality, flexibility and responsiveness of the VET system to meet the needs of the modern workplace. Some of the reports commissioned at this time include The Training Cost Review (Deveson Committee) 1990, the Finn Committee (1990), the Mayer Committee (1991) and the Carmichael Report (1992).

6. The National Training Framework was agreed to by Ministers for Vocational Education and Training in 1996.

7. Department of Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Business, Report of the Legislation Review of the Tradesmen's Rights Regulation Act 1946, November 1998, p. 81.

8. 3,000 Registered Training Organisations are registered under the National Framework for the Recognition of Training and are deemed to be registered under the Australian Recognition Framework, Legislation Review Report p. 85.

9. Previously called the Modern Australian Apprenticeship and Traineeships System.
10. Department of Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Business, Report of the Legislation Review of the Tradesmen's Rights Regulation Act 1946, November 1998, p. 82.

11. ibid p. 19.

12. There were less than eight skills assessors in 1998, ibid p. 71.

13. Department of Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Business, Report of the Legislation Review of the Tradesmen's Rights Regulation Act 1946, November 1998, p. 71.

14. The antecedents of these organisations have also been involved, ibid., pp.5-6.

15. The Boot Trade's committees have lapsed since 1989, ibid., p.6.
16. National Office of Overseas Skills Recognition, The Recognition of Trades and Related Occupations in Australia, Department of Employment, Education and Training 1995, p. 11.
17. Department of Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Business, Report of the Legislation Review of the Tradesmen's Rights Regulation Act 1946, November 1998, p. xiii.

18. ibid., p.xiii.

19. ibid., p. 53.

20. ibid., p.71.

21. ibid., p. 79.

22. ibid., pp. Xiv-xvi.

23. ibid., p. xiv.

24. ibid. pp. Xv-xvi.

25. ibid., p. 8.

26. ibid. p. 6.

27. ibid., p. 8.

28. ibid.

29. ibid.

30. ibid.

31. Explanatory Memorandum, Statute Stocktake Bill 1999, p. 3.

32. Department of Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Business, Report of the Legislation Review of the Tradesmen's Rights Regulation Act 1946, November 1998, p. 63.

Contact Officer and Copyright Details

Steve O'Neil and Fiona Walker
19 May 1999
Bills Digest Service
Information and Research Services

This paper has been prepared for general distribution to Senators and Members of the Australian Parliament. While great care is taken to ensure that the paper is accurate and balanced, the paper is written using information publicly available at the time of production. The views expressed are those of the author and should not be attributed to the Information and Research Services (IRS). Advice on legislation or legal policy issues contained in this paper is provided for use in parliamentary debate and for related parliamentary purposes. This paper is not professional legal opinion. Readers are reminded that the paper is not an official parliamentary or Australian government document.

IRS staff are available to discuss the paper's contents with Senators and Members
and their staff but not with members of the public.

ISSN 1328-8091
© Commonwealth of Australia 1999

Except to the extent of the uses permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without the prior written consent of the Parliamentary Library, other than by Members of the Australian Parliament in the course of their official duties.

Published by the Department of the Parliamentary Library, 1999.

Back to top

---