1.1
The Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Amendment (Ensuring Integrity) Bill 2017 (the bill) was introduced into the House of Representatives on 16 August 2017 by the Hon Christopher Pyne MP, Leader of the House and Minister for Defence Industry.
1.2
On 17 August 2017 the Senate referred the bill to the Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee for inquiry and report by 9 October 2017. A short extension was subsequently sought until 12 October 2017.
1.3
Details of the inquiry were made available on the committee's website. The committee also contacted a number of organisations inviting submissions to the inquiry. Submissions were received from 36 organisations and individuals, as detailed at Appendix 1.
1.4
The committee held one public hearing in Melbourne on 28 September 2017.
1.5
The witness list for this hearing can be found at Appendix 2.
1.6
Chapter 2 outlines the background to the bill and the measures contained in it.
1.7
Chapter 3 considers in more detail several of the measures in the bill raised by submitters including:
1.8
The Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills (Scrutiny of Bills Committee) reported on the bill in its Scrutiny Digest 10 of 2017 and raised scrutiny concerns in relation to some matters in the bill. These included insufficiently defined disqualification powers, strict liability offences, offences reversing the evidential burden of proof and providing administrators immunity from civil prosecution. The Scrutiny of Bills Committee sought further information from the Minister for Employment about some of these matters. At the time of drafting this report, the Scrutiny of Bills Committee has not published a response from the Minister or published its conclusions in relation to this response.
1.9
The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights (PJCHR) also reported on the bill in its Report 9 of 2017. The report raised questions about the human rights compatibility of some measures in the bill including the right to freedom of association, the right to form and join trade unions and the right to just and favourable conditions at work. The PJCHR sought further information from the Minister about these issues. At the time of drafting, the PJCHR has not published a response from the Minister or concluded its examination of the bill.
1.10
The committee thanks those individuals and organisations who contributed to this inquiry by preparing written submissions and giving evidence at the public hearing.
1.11
References in this report to the Hansard for the public hearings are to the Proof Hansard. Please note that page numbers may vary between the proof and official transcripts.