Employment and Workplace Relations

Building and Construction Industry — implementing the recommendations of the Royal Commission

Expense ($m)

	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07	2007-08
Department of Employment and Workplace Relations	11.5	40.5	41.6	42.4
Related capital ($m)
Department of Employment and Workplace Relations	-	0.2	-	-

The Government will provide $136.3 million (including $0.2 million capital funding) over four years for a package of reforms to assist the application of law and to achieve structural and cultural change in the building and construction industry. The reform package will:

• extend the Building Industry Taskforce to 30 June 2005 at a cost of $9 million;
• provide funding of $96.1 million over three years from 2005-06 to establish an Australian Building and Construction Commission (the capital funding will meet the cost of voice and data communications for the Commission);
• put in place a Federal Safety Commissioner with funding of $21.7 million over three years from 2005-06; and
• provide funding of $9.5 million over four years to the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations to support continuing structural reform in the industry.

The Australian Building and Construction Commission will be an independent statutory agency that will ensure lawful conduct in the industry by investigating, enforcing and prosecuting suspected breaches of the Building and Construction Industry Improvement Bill 2003, the Workplace Relations Act 1996 and the National Code of Practice for the Construction Industry and Australian Government Implementation Guidelines.

The Federal Safety Commissioner will be located within the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations and will use the influence of the Government as a client and provider of capital to foster improved occupational health and safety performance in the industry. The Commissioner will administer a pre-qualification scheme for the Government’s construction work and supervise a more intensive inspection regime of the Government’s construction sites.

The establishment of the Australian Building and Construction Commission and the Federal Safety Commissioner is contingent on the passage of the Building and Construction Industry Improvement Bill 2003.

Mature Age Workers — increasing participation rates

Expense ($m)

	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07	2007-08
Department of Employment and Workplace Relations	-	-	-	-

The Government will provide $12.1 million over four years to improve workforce participation by the mature aged.

A range of initiatives will be pursued to expand the information and assistance available to mature age job seekers and workers, and to employers. These initiatives will include seminars for mature age job seekers and employment service providers, projects targeting industries with the greatest capacity to employ mature age workers and action strategies for employers to retain mature age workers.

This measure will involve funding of $3.1 million in 2004-05 and $3 million per annum from 2005-06 to 2007-08. The cost is being fully absorbed from within the existing resourcing of the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations.

Office of the Employment Advocate — additional funding

Expense ($m)

	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07	2007-08
Department of Employment and Workplace Relations	-	-	-	-

The Government will provide additional funding of $0.7 million per annum to the Office of the Employment Advocate to meet increased Australian Workplace Agreement processing demands and to more effectively promote Australian Workplace Agreements.

The cost of this measure is being fully absorbed from within the existing resourcing of the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations.

---