Last Updated on 30/03/2026 by Damin Murdock
As at 5 May 2013, Fair Work Building & Construction has recovered over $2 million in unpaid wages and entitlements from employers in the building and construction industry. For those who may not be aware, on 1 February 2013, the new Fair Work (Building Industry) Act 2012 came into effect (the “Act”). The object of the Act is to:
- ensure compliance with workplace relation laws;
- provide means of enforcing the rights and obligations;
- provide safeguards on the use of the enforcement and investigative powers; and
- improve the level of occupational health and safety, in the building industry. To assist with the investigations with respect to whether a particular company is compliant with the building laws of Australia, the Act has granted special powers to:
- Authorised investigators to perform site visits to investigate whether a company is compliant with the building laws of Australia by obtaining information from a site or forcing persons to produce documents and/or attend to answer questions; and
Federal Safety Officers to monitor compliance with the building laws of Australia so far as they relate to occupational health and safety to:
- inspect any work, material or machinery;
- take samples;
- interview any person; or
- inspect and make copies of any document that is on the premises or is assessable from a computer kept on the premises.
In light of the recent announcement made by Fair Work Building & Construction, it is clear they have commenced the targeted audits, site visits and assessment of complaints by employees and/or sub-contractors.
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DISCLAIMER: This is not legal advice and is general information only. You should not rely upon the information contained in this article, and if you require specific legal advice, please contact us.
Damin Murdock (J.D | LL.M | BACS - Finance) has over 17 years of experience as a commercial lawyer. He helps businesses navigate construction and technology law. Damin has held several big leadership roles, including serving as a director of a national law firm and the Chief Legal Officer for Lawpath.
He has personally helped more than 2,000 startups and small businesses. With over 300 five-star reviews, his clients clearly value his practical advice and simple way of explaining things. Damin has also hosted over 100 webinars that thousands of people have watched to get reliable legal help.
