The Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) was an independent,

statutory authority A statutory body or statutory authority is a body set up by law (statute) that is authorised to implement certain legislation on behalf of the relevant country or state, sometimes by being empowered or delegated to set rules (for example reg ...

of the

Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national executive government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The executive consists of the pr ...

, responsible for promoting understanding and enforcing workplace relations compliance in the Australian building and construction industry. The ABCC was established under the ''Building and Construction Industry (Improving Productivity) Act 2016'' (Cth) (BCIIP Act). The ABCC existed in a different form as the Office of the Australian Building and Construction Commissioner between 2005 and 2012, and was replaced by Fair Work Building and Construction (FWBC) between 2012 and 2016. In 2015 the

Abbott government The Abbott government was the federal executive government of Australia led by the 28th Prime Minister Tony Abbott. The government was made up of members of the Liberal–National Coalition. The Leader of The Nationals, Warren Truss, served ...

attempted to reinstate the ABCC, but the legislation failed to pass the two houses of Parliament. A further attempt to pass the legislation was unsuccessfully made by the

Turnbull government The Turnbull government was the federal executive government of Australia led by the 29th prime minister of Australia, Malcolm Turnbull, from 2015 to 2018. It succeeded the Abbott government, which brought the Coalition to power at the 2013 Au ...

in March 2016. After the two failed attempts to reintroduce the ABCC, in December 2016 Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull called the

double dissolution A double dissolution is a procedure permitted under the Australian Constitution to resolve deadlocks in the bicameral Parliament of Australia between the House of Representatives (lower house) and the Senate (upper house). A double dissolutio ...

2016 federal election. Following the election, the re-elected

was successful in reinstating the ABCC with the vote of Senators Pauline Hanson's One Nation, Nick Xenophon Team and Derryn Hinch. The Albanese Government transferred the responsibilities of the ABCC that it intended to continue to the

Fair Work Ombudsman The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) (or formally, the Office of the Fair Work Ombudsman), is an independent statutory agency of the Government of Australia that serves as the central point of contact for free advice and information on the Australian ...

in November 2022, and passed legislation to formally abolish the ABCC in December 2022. The ABCC, stripped of any continuing function, was gradually wound down ahead of its official abolition on 6 February 2023.

Jurisdiction

Under the BCIIP Act, the ABCC monitored and promoted compliance with a number of laws by "building industry participants", including the BCIIP Act itself, the ''

Fair Work Act 2009 The ''Fair Work Act 2009'' (Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia, passed by the Rudd government to reform the industrial relations system of Australia. Replacing the Howard government's WorkChoices legislation, the Act established ...

'' and the ''Code for the Tendering and Performance of Building Work 2016'' (commonly known as the "Building Code"). "Building industry participants" included employees, employers, contractors, unions/employer associations and their officers, delegates & representatives, engaged in the following types of work: * construction of buildings or structures, ports and railways * installation of fittings * preparatory work such as site clearances and laying of foundations * transport of materials to building sites. The ABCC did not have jurisdiction over domestic building work (unless part of a multi-site development involving 5 or more houses), or mining work.

Commissioners

The ABCC was headed by the Australian Building and Construction Commissioner. There were only two holders of that office during ABCC's existence: The initial Commissioner was the previous Director of FWBC, Nigel Hadgkiss, who had been in that role since 21 October 2013. In October 2016, the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) filed proceedings in the

Federal Court of Australia The Federal Court of Australia is an Australian superior court which has jurisdiction to deal with most civil disputes governed by federal law (with the exception of family law matters), along with some summary (less serious) and indictable (mo ...

, alleging that while Director of FWBC in 2013, Hadgkiss had allowed misleading material to remain on the FWBC's website about right of entry laws, in breach of a provision of the Fair Work Act (legislation which the FWBC itself used against the CFMEU and other unions). On 13 September 2017, when the case was due to be heard at trial, Hadgkiss formally admitted to the CFMEU's allegation, and he subsequently resigned from the Commissioner's position. Hadgkiss was fined $8,500 for the breach by Justice Berna Collier, the judge remarking that his contravention was "serious" and resulted in "the dissemination by the FWBC – at his direction – of false information to the industry of which the FWBC was not only the regulator, but supposedly a trustworthy source of reliable information for industry participants." In February 2018, the Turnbull government appointed former Victorian Chief Examiner (and former AFL umpire) Stephen McBurney as the second ABCC Commissioner.

References

{{reflist

External links

Website
Defunct Commonwealth Government agencies of Australia 2016 establishments in Australia Government agencies established in 2016 Government agencies disestablished in 2023 Regulatory authorities of Australia 2023 disestablishments in Australia Australian labour law