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.
If you have any questions in relation to this article, please contact Damin Murdock at Leo Lawyers on (02) 8201 0051 or at office@leolawyers.com.au.
DISCLAIMER: This article is not to be taken as legal advice and is general in nature. If you require specific advice, please contact us.
