The Office of the Australian Building and Construction Commissioner (ABCC) and the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) both play important roles in the building and construction industry. But which agency deals with which issues?
The ABCC oversees workplace laws in the Australian building and construction industry. It deals with laws relating to unlawful industrial action, sham contracting arrangements, freedom of association, coercion, right of entry and strike pay. The ABCC is also involved in the auditing of building and construction work that is funded by the Australian Government and falls within the National Code of Practice.
The FWO provides advice, education and compliance of workplace laws across all Australian industries. Within the building and construction industry the FWO deals with breaches of terms and conditions of employment such as underpayment of wages and entitlements, and record keeping obligations. In other industries the FWO investigates unlawful industrial action, sham contracting arrangements, freedom of association, coercion, right of entry, strike pay, anti-discrimination and breaches of an enterprise agreement or order of Fair Work Australia.
If you are unsure who to speak to and you are working in the construction industry, contact the ABCC in the first instance. ABCC staff will listen to your concerns and walk you through your rights and responsibilities. If it is determined that your enquiry is better dealt with by the FWO then we will refer your enquiry. Vice versa, the FWO will refer you to the ABCC when appropriate.
The FWO and the ABCC will continue to work together in order to best serve building industry participants.
The FWO can be contacted by phone 13 13 94 or online: www.fwo.gov.au.