Post–implementation Review – Department of Employment
On 24 November 2011 the former Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Jobs and Workplace Relations introduced legislation to make it easier for outworkers in the textile, clothing and footwear industry to recover minimum entitlements and to ensure compliance with the relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009. Outworkers are contractors or employees who perform their work at home or at a place that would not normally be considered business premises. The Fair Work Amendment (Textile, Clothing and Footwear Industry) Act 2012 (TCF Act) commenced operation on 1 July 2012 and amended the Fair Work Act to extend most provisions of the Act to contract outworkers, to enable outworkers to recover unpaid wages or entitlements up the supply chain and to extend the right of entry rules that apply to suspected breaches affecting outworkers to the entire TCF industry. The proposal was assessed as likely to have a significant regulatory impact on the economy, and was therefore subject to the preparation of a RIS. However, an exemption from the best practice regulation requirements was granted by the then Prime Minister. This exemption also required the Department of Employment to prepare a post-implementation review (PIR) within two years of implementation. The PIR notes that since the TCF Act has been in place, it appears to have been positive for vulnerable workers, with incremental improvements for outworkers’ pay and conditions. However, the TCF Act appears to have disadvantaged some independent contractors. These have stated that the TCF Act has reduced their earning capacity, taken away their flexibility and treats them as vulnerable, rather than skilled workers. It has also had some increase in regulatory burden to businesses. The PIR concludes that the regulation should remain in place and be reviewed at a later stage when there is more data available. A PIR was completed by the Department of Employment in September 2014 and was assessed as adequate by the Office of Best Practice Regulation. The estimated annual average regulatory cost of the proposal was approximately $2.79 million which has been agreed with the OBPR.
