Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I can go through the Workplace Relations Act 1996 in detail if you want me to. Those provisions have not been cavilled at in respect of the Fair Work Bill. At part 5 of the Act it provides:

180 Conscientious objection to membership of organisations

(1)  Where a natural person:

       (a)  on application made to a Registrar, satisfies the Registrar :

(i)  in the case of a person who is an employer or is otherwise eligible to join an organisation of employers—that the person’s conscientious beliefs do not allow the person to be a member of an association of the kind described in paragraph 18(1)(a); or

(ii)  in the case of a person who is an employee or is otherwise eligible to join an organisation of employees—that the person’s conscientious beliefs do not allow the person to be a member of an association of the kind described in paragraph 18(1)(b) or 18(1)(c); and

       (b)  pays the prescribed fee to the Registrar;

the Registrar must issue to the person a certificate to that effect in the prescribed form.

That is, the longstanding provision dealing with conscientious objection for a person not to join a union remains. What we are dealing with tonight does not cavil at this provision. Section 3 of that act says:

(3)  Subject to subsection (4), a certificate under subsection (1) remains in force for the period (not exceeding 12 months) …

So it is the usual provision where you pay the fee and you get the exemption from the registrar, and that operates for the period of 12 months or is otherwise renewed in a regular period of 12 months. It goes on from there. I will not go to any further matters unless the opposition want me to.