The National Code sets minimum standards that businesses must meet to be eligible for certain Australian Government building and construction work.
The National Code Implementation Guidelines provide supporting detail on compliance requirements.
See other ABCC fact sheets to determine when the National Code applies and which set of Guidelines to use.
This fact sheet applies to all projects that were the subject of an expression of interest or tender let for the first time on or after 1 August 2009.
Freedom of association
Freedom of association means having the right to choose whether or not to join a union or an employer association. The Fair Work Act 2009 (FW Act) and Building and Construction Industry Improvement Act 2005 (BCII Act) make it unlawful to discriminate against anyone on these grounds. It is also unlawful to force anyone to pay fees to such organisations if not a member.
The Australian Government Implementation Guidelines for the National Code of Practice for the Construction Industry (Guidelines) state that contractors must have policies and practices that meet freedom of association requirements.
The Guidelines give examples of practices that are unacceptable breaches of freedom of association, including:
- providing names of workers to unions, unless allowed by law
- ‘no ticket, no start’ signs or ‘show card’ days
- requiring employees to identify their union status in any way
- refusing to employ or terminating an employee because of their union status
- discriminating against or disadvantaging elected employee representatives.
Right of entry
The Guidelines require that right of entry is in accordance with applicable legislation, court and tribunal orders, and industrial instruments. For example, a union official must:
- hold a valid federal right of entry permit
- provide at least 24 hours written notice of entry, unless entry is in relation to specific OHS law
- show their federal permit and notice of entry upon request
- only visit during working hours and only hold discussions during meal times or other breaks
- provide details of any alleged breach of the FW Act they are investigating, if applicable.
It is recommended site management keep records of all requests by union officials to visit the site and details of any visits that take place. Records should include the name of the union and official, permit numbers and reason for visit.
Checklist items:
1. Are there policies in place that ensure:
- employee records are not provided to a third party? YES/NO
- posters, signs and other promotional material implying compulsory union membership such as ‘no ticket, no start’ are not displayed on site? YES/NO
- employees are not required to identify their union status in any way? YES/NO
2. Are there systems in place that ensure union officials:
- hold a valid federal right of entry permit? YES/NO
- provide at least 24 hours written notice of entry, unless entry is in relation to OHS law? YES/NO
- show their valid permit and notice of entry upon request? YES/NO
- only visit during working hours and hold discussions during meal times or other breaks? YES/NO
- provide details of any alleged breach of the FW Act they are investigating? YES/NO
Answering NO to any of these questions may mean the site is not National Code compliant. For further advice, call the ABCC hotline on 1800 003 338.