Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Amendment Bill 2013

The 44th Parliament of Australia has introduced the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Amendment Bill 2013 (the Bill) to amend the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009 and the Fair Work Act 2009 in order to ensure better governance of registered organisations. Recent examples of financial misconduct with registered organisations have prompted the government to recognise that current regulatory frameworks are not sufficient safeguards.

Effect of the Bill

The Bill will establish an independent watchdog, the Registered Organisations Commission, to monitor and regulate registered organisations with enhanced investigation and information gathering powers. The Commission will be headed by the Registered Organisations Commissioner who will assume the investigations, enforcement advice and assistance responsibilities of the General Manager of the Fair Work Commission in relation to registered organisations. The Commission will have a high degree of independence in the exercise of its functions and powers modelled after those found in the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001. These powers will enable to Commissioner to efficiently and effectively undertake its compliance functions.

The Bill also provides for other amendments including the requirements on officers’ disclosure of material personal interests and change grounds for existing financial accounting, disclosure and transparency obligations under the Registered Organisation Act. It further creates criminal offences for serious breaches of officers’ duties and increased civil penalties that mirror director’s duty under the Corporations Act 2001.

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