ARTICLE · 24 NOVEMBER 2016

Government's union regulation legislation passes Senate

Clayton Utz

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A key plank of the industrial relations reform agenda that triggered the double dissolution election passes the Senate.

AustraliaEmployment and HR

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A key plank of the Government's industrial relations reform agenda that triggered the double dissolution election has passed the Senate in the early hours of this morning.

The Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Amendment Bill received the support of nearly all cross-bench senators with amendments to provide stronger protections for whistle-blowers.

The passage of this Bill is the most significant industrial relations legislative development since the creation of the Fair Work Act in 2009.

What are the key features of the new legislation?

The key focus of the Bill is to amend the Fair Work Act and the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act to ensure better governance of organisations by strengthening existing financial accounting and disclosure requirements, increasing penalties for breaches of the legislation and importantly, to establish a new independent regulator – the Registered Organisations Commission.

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