BackIn September 2016, the Senate referred the Building and Construction Industry (Improving Productivity) Bill 2013 and the Building and Construction Industry (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2013 to the Education and Employment Legislation Committee for inquiry.
The Bill proposes to re-establish the Australian Building and Construction Commissioner and to continue the existence of the body known as the Office of the Fair Work Building Industry Inspectorate under the name of the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC).
Currently, the Commonwealth Ombudsman reviews and reports on the exercise of coercive information gathering powers by the Director of the Fair Work Building Industry Inspectorate (known as Fair Work Building and Construction, FWBC) under the Fair Work (Building Industry) Act 2012 (the FWBI Act).
The Bill proposes a potentially broadened scope for the Ombudsman’s reviews of the exercise of coercive powers to gather information by the Commissioner.
This submission outlines the reviews that the Ombudsman currently undertakes under the FWBI Act. It discusses the possible expansion of the scope of the Ombudsman’s oversight activities if the Bill is passed. It also outlines the resource implications for the Ombudsman’s office in light of the recommendations made in the past and our experiences in obtaining adequate funding for this role to date.
For more information please see the PDF attached.
Source: the Commonwealth Ombudsman - AUSTRALIA
