Senate

Revised Explanatory Memorandum

(Circulated by authority of the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, the Honourable Kevin Andrews MP)

OUTLINE

The Building Construction Industry Improvement (Consequential and Transitional) Bill 2005 (the Bill) will provide consequential and transitional provisions for the Building and Construction Industry Improvement Act (BCII Act).

The key provisions of the Bill will:

•

provide application, saving and transitional provisions for the BCII Act;

•

make consequential amendments to the Workplace Relations Act 1996 (the WR Act) and other Acts by providing for the insertion of references to the BCII Act, including amendments to the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977 to exempt decisions made under the BCII Act from its operation.

•

facilitate the transfer of certain records of the Royal Commission into the Building and Construction Industry (Royal Commission) to the Australian Building and Construction Commissioner (ABC Commissioner).

Part 1 deals with preliminary matters including the short title of the Bill and commencement provisions for the clauses and schedules of the Bill.

Part 2 contains application and transitional provisions for those sections of the BCII Act where the application of those sections upon commencement would otherwise be unclear.

Part 3 allows regulations to be made.

Schedule 1 makes consequential amendments to the WR Act to accommodate changes made by the BCII Act, and inserts references to the BCII Act.

Schedule 2 amends Commonwealth legislation other than the WR Act to make amendments consequential to the enactment of the Building and Construction Industry Bill 2005 (BCII Bill).

Schedule 3 amends the Financial Management and Accountability Regulations 1997 to prescribe the Office of the ABC Commissioner as a prescribed agency for purposes of the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 .

FINANCIAL IMPACT STATEMENT

The proposals in this Bill are budget neutral.

NOTES ON CLAUSES

Clause 1 - Short Title

This is a formal provision specifying the short title of the Act as the Building and Construction Industry Improvement (Consequential and Transitional) Act 2005 .

Clause 2 - Commencement

Clause 2 sets out a table with commencement information for provisions of this Bill.

The following provisions will commence on the day the Bill receives Royal Assent:

•

sections 1 to 3, 5(2), 6 to 9

•

items 1 to 7, 10, 12 to 18 of Schedule 1

•

Schedules 2 and 3

•

other provisions of the Bill not expressly covered by the table.

The following provisions will be taken to have commenced on 9 March 2005:

•

section 4

•

subsections 5(1), (3) and (4)

•

items 8, 9 and 11 of Schedule 1.

Clause 3 - Schedule(s)

Clause 3 provides that each Act and each regulation specified in a Schedule is amended or repealed as set out in that Schedule. Other items operate according to their terms. The amendment of any regulation does not prevent the regulation, as so amended, from being amended or repealed by the Governor-General.