The National Code of Practice for the Construction Industry (the Code) establishes minimum standards businesses must meet to be eligible for Australian Government building and construction work.
The Australian Government Implementation Guidelines for the National Code of Practice for the Construction Industry (the Guidelines) provide further detail on Code compliance requirements.
Only parties who are Code compliant can tender to undertake building and construction activities on Australian Government funded proejcts. This condition applies to the head contractor, subcontractors, project managers, consultants, and material suppliers.
Freedom of association
Freedom of association means having the right to choose whether or not to join a union or an employer association. The Workplace Relations Act 1996 (WR 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 Code and Guidelines outline practices that ensure freedom of association is protected, such as:
- employee records are securely stored and not provided to a third party
- posters, signs and other promotional material implying compulsory union membership are not displayed on site
- workers are not required to display union logos or badges on their clothing and property
- site induction processes are undertaken by site management
- employees are not required to identify their union status in any way.
Any suspected breach of freedom of association must be reported to the Office of the Australian Building and Construction Commissioner (ABCC) within 21 days.
Right of entry
Any site visits by union officials must be in accordance with the right of entry requirements of the WR Act. That is, union officials must:
- hold a valid federal right of entry permit
- provide at least 24 hours written notice of entry, unless in relation to specific OHS law
- provide details of any alleged breach they are investigating
- only visit during working hours and hold discussions during meal times or other breaks and
- show their valid permit and notice of entry upon request.
Site management should 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 securely stored and not provided to a third party? YES/NO
- posters, signs and other promotional material implying compulsory union membership are not displayed on site? YES/NO
- union logos are not required to be displayed on clothing and property? YES/NO
- site induction processes are undertaken by site management? 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 in relation to OHS law? YES/NO
- provide details of any alleged breach they are investigating? YES/NO
- only visit during working hours and hold discussions during meal times or other breaks?YES/NO
- show their valid permit and notice of entry upon request? YES/NO
Answering NO to any of these questions may mean the site is not Code compliant. For further advice, call the ABCC Hotline on 1800 003 338.
Further Information
See section 8.5 of the Guidelines (PDF 636KB) which deals with freedom of association and right of entry.
You can download a printable version of this fact sheet here: On-site practices - Freedom of Association and Right of Entry (PDF - 158KB)
To make an enquiry or obtain copies of the Code and Guidelines, fact sheets and other reference material, visit the National Code page and Fact Sheets page of the ABCC website or go to:
The Office of the Australian Building and Construction Commissioner
Hotline: 1800 003 338
Website: www.abcc.gov.au
Email: enquiry@abcc.gov.au
Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations
National Code Mailbox: building@deewr.gov.au
Code Hotline on 1300 731 293.
Assessment of workplace arrangments for Code compliance:
Go to Code Assessments Online at www.workplace.gov.au/building
The information contained in this fact sheet is correct as at 26 February 2008.
This material is for general information only. You should seek legal advice in relation to your particular circumstances. The Australian Government, its employees and agents do not accept any liability for action taken in reliance on this document and disclaim all liability arising from any error or omission. ABN 68 003 725 098
V1.00