Cole Royal Commission
In August 2001, the Cole Royal Commission into the Building and Construction Industry (the Royal Commission) was established to inquire into and report on the nature, extent and effect of any unlawful or otherwise inappropriate conduct in the building and construction industry.
The Commission sat for 171 public sitting days, accumulated 16,000 pages of transcript and heard from 765 witnesses. In addition, 1900 exhibits, including confidential exhibits, were tendered to Commissioner, and some 29 general submissions were presented from interested parties throughout the building and construction industry.
The Final Report of Commissioner Cole was tabled in Parliament on 26 and 27 March 2003. It outlined the Royal Commission findings that the industry was characterised by a widespread disregard for the law, cataloguing over 100 types of unlawful and inappropriate conduct. The Commission also found that existing regulatory bodies had insufficient powers and resources to enforce the law.
Building Industry Taskforce
The Building Industry Taskforce was established on 1 October 2002. Commissioner Cole’s intention was to establish an interim body to secure the law in the industry prior to the establishment of the national agency he envisaged. On 25 March 2004, the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, The Hon Kevin Andrews, advised the Parliament that the Interim Taskforce was to become a permanent Taskforce which would operate until the establishment of the Office of the Australian Building and Construction Commissioner (ABCC).
Building and Construction Industry Improvement Act 2005
The Building and Construction Industry Improvement Act 2005 (BCII Act) is the Government’s legislative response to the Royal Commission. It redefines unlawful industrial action, strengthens coercion provisions and substantially increases penalties to reflect the seriousness of the offences. Further, it is this legislation that establishes the ABCC.
Office of the Australian Building and Construction Commissioner
In a joint press conference on 15 September 2005, Minister Kevin Andrews announced the Hon John Lloyd as ABC Commissioner. The ABCC was established on 1 October 2005. Its key objective is to ensure that workplace relations laws are enforced in building and construction industry workplaces. The ABC Commissioner and Inspectors have the power to investigate suspected contraventions of the law and prosecute breaches of the BCII Act and the Workplace Relations Act 1996 in relation to the building and construction industry. The ABCC, consistent with its enhanced powers, is required to devote considerable resources to promoting proper conduct and informing industry players of their obligations.