During the reporting period, FWBC received 179 enquiries. The majority of these enquiries (116) were received via the 1800 hotline.
Issues raised by enquiries
Table 2.1 shows a breakdown of the issues that were raised through enquiries to 30 June 2012. Twelve per cent of enquiries related to the National Code and 11 per cent related to wages and entitlements.
Responding to enquiries
During the reporting period, FWBC responded to 97 per cent of enquiries within one working day.
FWBC resolved 97 per cent of enquiries within three working days.
Activities generated by enquiries
Table 2.2 sets out the outcome of enquiries FWBC received. Approximately 12 per cent of enquiries led to an investigation. In 75 per cent of cases, FWBC provided information, and FWBC referred 13 per cent of enquiries to other agencies.
TABLE 2.1 ISSUES RAISED BY ENQUIRIES
Enquiry issues |
2011-12 |
Wages and entitlements |
20 |
Agreements |
2 |
Code or code compliance |
22 |
Coercion |
6 |
Discrimination |
3 |
Domestic building |
8 |
Fair Work Act general protections |
2 |
Freedom of association |
1 |
General FWBC information |
18 |
Independent contractor |
10 |
Industrial action |
5 |
Licensing / permits |
3 |
OHS |
2 |
Other |
10 |
Other Federal Agency |
6 |
Other State Agency |
5 |
Revocation of permit |
0 |
Right of entry |
5 |
Strike pay |
1 |
Targeted audit |
0 |
Union behaviour |
17 |
Total |
146 |
TABLE 2.2 ENQUIRY OUTCOMES
Enquiry outcomes |
|
Information provided |
114 |
Referred to other Agency |
1 |
Referred to Federal Agency |
8 |
Referred to State Agency |
11 |
Unable to provide assistance |
3 |
Upgrade to investigation |
14 |
Total |
151 |
TABLE 2.3 INFORMAL REFERRALS
Informal referrals |
2011-12 |
State Agencies: domestic building, licensing |
7 |
Code assessment and website |
2 |
OHS Agencies: safety, OHS training cards ‘red’, etc |
2 |
Workplace agencies: wages, unlawful or unfair employment |
2 |
Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) |
2 |
Long service leave |
0 |
Subcontractors payment (subject to state law), riggers, crane licensing |
1 |
Australian Apprenticeships Referral Line |
0 |
Employer associations |
0 |
Australian Tax Office (ATO) |
2 |
Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) |
0 |
Code Monitoring Group |
0 |
Other |
1 |
Total |
19 |
TABLE 2.4 FIELD OPERATIONS PRESENTATIONS AND ATTENDEE NUMBERS
|
2011-12 |
Presentations |
25 |
Attendees |
379 |
TABLE 2.5 STATE BREAKDOWN OF SITE VISITS
State |
2011-12 |
NSW |
48 |
VIC |
101 |
QLD |
12 |
WA |
93 |
SA |
22 |
TAS |
22 |
ACT |
5 |
NT |
13 |
Total |
316 |
Informal referrals
Enquiries that are beyond FWBC’s jurisdiction are categorised as informal if they are referred before an investigation has started. Table 2.3 sets out details of the informal referrals FWBC made to 30 June 2012. FWBC referred 19 enquiries to other state and federal agencies during the reporting period. The majority of these were to state domestic building authorities.