Jacinta Collins (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for School Education and Workplace Relations) Share this | Hansard source

With respect to Senator Cormann's questions, I am happy to defer them even if it is necessary to do so during the discussion of the amendments themselves. So if it suits Senator Cormann to simply come and move his amendments I am happy to deal with the issues that he raised last night at that stage.

With respect to the issues that Senator Abetz raised, I described last night that Fair Work Australia has a process to work through to determine the costs involved with the change of name. It is not that there is no understanding of cost but rather that Fair Work Australia have advised government of their process and we are waiting for an outcome of that process. We are quite happy to inform the Senate and indeed Senator Abetz of the outcome of that process once it becomes known.

I can clarify further the point I made in response last night to a question on the name change. I indicated that the costs were to be absorbed by Fair Work Australia. I differentiated just a moment ago between that and the costs associated with the new appointments.

However, no differentiation is warranted: it is indeed the case that Fair Work Australia will absorb the full cost involved in the changes that have been sought. However, the precise details—and I think I mentioned this last night—in relation to the costs associated with the new appointments are still subject to the Remuneration Tribunal.

But we can be quite clear that the government is confident that Fair Work Australia will continue to fulfil its functions under the Fair Work Act diligently and well. Senator Abetz would be aware that over time, since the establishment of Fair Work Australia, there have been differential arrangements in relation to the costs of the agency, some of those associated with dealing with the new act and the new arrangements that were first implemented and with changes that have occurred subsequently. What the government has done on this occasion is respond to requests from Fair Work Australia to set up new administrative arrangements. We rely on Fair Work Australia to advise us on what administrative arrangements it needs, and any further costs that may need to be considered would be a matter of the usual budgetary arrangements. We are confident that Fair Work Australia will absorb the cost in relation to these measures that they have sought, without any loss of function in other areas.

On the cost of the vice-presidents, I have already mentioned this is a matter for the Remuneration Tribunal and any costs beyond those that have been estimated in a broad sense would be subject to normal budgetary processes.