Australian Building and Construction Commissioner Leigh Johns has published 17 submissions to the ABCC’s Sham Contracting Inquiry, which he says shed light on the problem.
The ABC Commissioner opened an inquiry into sham contracting in the building and construction industry in November 2010. A discussion paper was released on 22 December 2010 raising issues for discussion in relation to the use of sham arrangements and labour hire in the building and construction industry.
“The wide range of organisations making submissions is encouraging. It is only through collaboration between government, peak bodies, unions and commercial interests that we will successfully address the problem of sham contracting in the industry,” Commissioner Johns said.
“Even on an initial review, these submissions provide valuable insight into the incidence and impact of the problem.”
The HIA says the current inquiry into sham contracting by the Australian Building and Construction Commissioner may unfairly impact on genuine small businesses in the housing industry.
“Proposals to the ABCC inquiry that would force subcontractors to become employees would devastate the housing industry and destroy thousands of independent small businesses,” said Glenn Simpson, HIA’s Senior Executive Director Legal Affairs and Corporate Services.
HIA, in its submission to the ABCC, has strongly defended the current subcontracting system and decisively rebuffed union claims that builders who engage subcontractors when they could hire employees are engaged in “sham contracting”.
Simpson said “Contracting is a perfectly legitimate way of performing work in the modern economy and is an entirely valid alternative to direct employment. HIA supports policies that respect and promote the choice of individuals to offer their services as an independent business person rather than an employee, if they wish,”
The HIA also questioned the ABCC’ s capacity to hold such an inquiry, arguing that under the Building Industry Improvement Act the ABCC is purely a law enforcement body for the commercial building industry and has no function of holding inquiries or advising government on housing, tax and other policy issues.
The HIA’s submission to the inquiry is available on their website.
The next component of the Inquiry involves direct industry consultation at Roundtable consultations to be held in Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane commencing in late March 2011.
Visit www.shamcontractinginquiry.gov.au to view submissions and register to attend a roundtable event.
