News | 02 December

The bill has now passed and these changes will have an impact, and we want you to be ready for them. Please read the important update below which links to our National CCF office’s Briefing for all members. 

Civil Construction wins an exemption from the application of the Multi Employer Bargaining Nightmare

CCF Victoria contributed significantly to supporting Civil Contractors Federation National to ensure that civil construction got carved out from the application of the harmful multi employer bargaining provisions (please see our CCF National submission to the Senate Inquiry on Secure Jobs Better Pay which outlines why multi-employer bargaining is a nightmare for members and industry here).

You may recall that originally the exemption from multi-employer bargaining applied to building and construction and this was not extended to include civil construction. In the past month, we have been in Canberra representing the interests of civil contractors and are very pleased to see through our advocacy efforts that at the eleventh hour we were able to secure an exemption for civil construction from multi-employer bargaining as per the meaning of “civil construction” set out in clause 4.3 (b)  of the Building and Construction General On-site Award 2020.  We would encourage members to look at the definition of “civil construction” as set out in clause 4.3(b) which we’ve linked here.

The Abolition of the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC)
CCF Victoria continues to work with the National Office who will meet with the Fair Work Ombudsman to discuss transitional arrangements as it assumes the powers of the ABCC, we look forward to providing members with further advice on how the Fair Work Ombudsman is going to deliver the robust compliance and enforcement regime required to protect them from some of the toxic lawlessness and militancy which is unique to our industry.  At a time where our civil contracting businesses are struggling with inflation, cost and supply of materials, critical labour shortages, and poor mental health outcomes the last thing we need are increased industrial disputes, intimidation, and coercion because we no longer have the regulatory oversight required.

CCF Member National Briefing:
Today, CCF National provided all states with a CCF Member brief highlighting areas of the new legislation please see that briefing linked here.

Interested in learning more?
CCF Victoria will be releasing a further update exploring the upcoming changes and what our members need to action from them, next week. 

Should you have any questions in the meantime, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our friendly membership services team on 9588 7600 or email membership@ccfvic.com.au, we also remind you that members get access to free HR / IR advice through Ridgeline HR on 0438 533 311. 

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