Stuart Henry (Hasluck, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

As I was saying earlier, section 275 of the Queensland Industrial Relations Act 1999 gives the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission the power to declare persons who work under a contract for service to be an employee—a great example of what I have been talking about in terms of Labor governments responding to their union mates and taking away incentives for, and the aspirations of, individuals to be self-employed and taking away the freedom and the choice to be so. It is worth repeating that every worker who chooses to be an independent contractor is one fewer potential union member. Our legislation enables such people to have their own individuality, be self-reliant and not be reduced to a number—the lowest common denominator in a collective of mediocrity such as the unions and labour movement in this country.

The Workplace Relations Legislation Amendment (Independent Contractors) Bill 2006 allows penalties to be imposed on employers who try to avoid their obligations under employment law by disguising their employees as independent contractors or who coerce their employees to become independent contractors. The penalties in this bill for so-called ‘sham’ contracting are harsh, sending a clear message to unscrupulous employers that this behaviour will not be tolerated. These protections address our responsibilities under international law through International Labour Organisation conventions with regard to disguised employment. Independent Contractors of Australia believe that the independent contractors bill is consistent with and reflects ILO recommendations. In fact, in their commentary on the bill, ICA said the bill ‘applies a highly robust process for combating disguised employment relationships’.

The prosecution of employers and employees who misuse independent contracting arrangements is important to preserve the integrity of independent contractors nationwide. There is no doubt that unscrupulous employers may occasionally attempt to coerce employees into sham independent contracting arrangements for whatever reason, and this bill take steps to ensure that those employers are dealt with and that effective deterrents exist to help prevent such behaviour.

One of the groundbreaking elements of this legislation is the introduction of a single nationwide unfair contracts jurisdiction. Existing federal unfair contract provisions will be moved from the Workplace Relations Act to the independent contractors bill. This is a more appropriate approach, given these provisions relate to commercial contracts rather than industrial agreements. State unfair contract jurisdictions will be overridden wherever possible using the corporations powers. These bills, along with the Work Choices legislation, ensure the flexibility and responsiveness of Australia’s labour market and thereby strengthen our economy. (Time expired)

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