The Building and Construction Industry Improvement Amendment (Transition to Fair Work) Bill 2011 (the Bill) would create a new set of compliance arrangements for the building and construction industry.

The Bill would abolish the Office of the Australian Building and Construction Commissioner and would create a new agency, the Office of the Fair Work Building Industry Inspectorate (the Building Inspectorate) to regulate the building and construction industry.

The Bill would remove the existing building industry law that provide higher penalties for building industry participants for breaches of industrial law. The Bill would remove existing building industry-specific laws that provide broader circumstances under which industrial action attracts penalties.

The Bill would include a capacity for the Director of the Building Inspectorate to obtain an examination notice authorising the use of powers to compulsorily obtain information (including through requiring a person to attend an examination and answer questions) or documents from a person whom the Director believes has information or documents relevant to an investigation.

The Bill would introduce the following safeguards in relation to the use of the power to compulsorily obtain information or documents:

• use of the powers would be dependent upon a presidential member of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal being satisfied a case has been made for their use and issuing an examination notice;
• persons summonsed to interview could be represented by a lawyer of their choice and their rights to refuse to disclose information on the grounds of legal professional privilege and public interest immunity would be recognised;
• people summonsed for examination would be reimbursed for their reasonable expenses, including reasonable legal expenses;
• all examinations would be videotaped and undertaken by the Director or an SES officer;
• the Commonwealth Ombudsman would monitor and review all examinations and provide reports to the Parliament on the exercise of this power; and
• the powers would be subject to a three year sunset clause. The decision on whether the coercive powers will be extended after three years will be made following a review of their use and ongoing need;

The Bill would create the office of the Independent Assessor, who, on application from stakeholders, may make a determination that, the examination notice powers will not apply to a particular project.

The Bill would not affect the provisions that establish the Office of the Federal Safety Commissioner and its related OHS Accreditation Scheme.