On this page you will find important information that directly affects project owners.
The Building and Construction Industry Improvement Act 2005 (BCII Act) forms part of the government’s national approach to workplace relations reform. The purpose of the BCII Act is to ensure that building work is carried out fairly, efficiently and productively for the benefit of all building industry participants and the Australian economy as a whole.
What is my Role?
As a project owner you have a crucial role to play in ensuring compliance with workplace relations laws on your building sites and construction projects. Whether you are a private owner or your project is government-funded you must be aware of the legal rights and obligations of building industry participants.
What are my responsibilities?
It is your responsibility to inform your principal contractors of their obligations and to ensure compliance with laws and guidelines across all building sites under your control. There are a number of important issues you should address with your principal contractors to enable them to promote lawful conduct on your building site. These are:
- Awareness of the ABCC
You should discuss the functions and powers of the ABCC with your principal contractors and direct them to contact the ABCC for industrial relations information or to make a complaint.
- Freedom of Association (FOA)
In Australia, every employee is free to join, or not join, a union. Equally, every employer is free to join, or not join, an employer association. It is illegal to try to force anyone into joining, or not joining, a union or an employer association.
For more information please read our fact sheet Freedom of Association in the Building and Construction Industry available on our Fact Sheets page.
- Coercion and intimidation
Coercion is the act of applying pressure to force a party to make a particular decision or take particular action. Coercion interferes with a party’s freedom of choice and can result in civil penalties being imposed under the BCII Act. Persons or organisations engaging in action, or making threats, with intent to coerce another face significant penalties under the BCII Act.
You must not:
- Discriminate against a contractor because the contractor’s employees are covered or not covered by a particular kind of industrial agreement.
- Coerce someone to enter, change, end, or prolong a building certified agreement.
- Coerce someone to engage a particular building contractor.
- Coerce a building employee to nominate, or a building employer to contribute to a particular superannuation fund.
- Coerce an employee to withdraw, or not to make at all, a request for union representation during negotiations for an employer-employee agreement.
PENALTY: $110,000 for a body corporate or $22,000 for an individual.
- National Code of Practice for the Construction Industry
The National Code is a set of principles for best practice in workplace relations, occupational health and safety, procurement and security for payment. The obligations involved in satisfying the National Code are set out in accompanying Implementation Guidelines.
The National Code has been endorsed by the federal government and all state governments. Even if you are a private developer, you should apply the principles of the National Code and Guidelines to ensure that your site operates on best practice values. From 1 November 2005, all companies, and entities engaged by companies, wishing to work on Australian Government construction projects must comply with the National Code and Implementation Guidelines on all their construction projects, including those that are privately funded.
For more information about National Code compliance or to download the National Code and other relevant documents please visit the National Code page on this website.
- Project Agreements
A project agreement is used to establish common terms and conditions of employment for workers and subcontractors on a site. Please refer to our detailed Project Agreements FAQs for more information.
Notifications to the Australian Building and Construction Commissioner
Building industry participants must notify the ABC Commissioner, as soon as practicable, when they make or are otherwise involved in an application made to a court under the BCII Act, the WR Act or the section 34 of the IC Act and the proceedings relate to building work. If you fail to notify the ABCC you are liable for a penalty of:
- $2,750 if you are a body corporate.
- $550 in any other case.
Notifications to the ABCC should be faxed to: 03) 8509 3023. Enquiries should be directed to Eugene Quigley - Advocate, ABCC on: 03) 8509 3011. For more information please visit our Notifications to the ABCC page.
The ABCC has created a number of fact sheets that offer specific information and legislative advice. Please contact us if you require further information that is not available on this website.