The Ensuring Integrity Bill

On August 16 of 2017, an amendment to Fair Work (Registered Organizations) Act was made which includes a few key changes that will ensure the integrity of various organizations. Master Builders has supported this from the very beginning, and it is now seeking the support of cross-bench Senators and a request to the IR Minister for the federal government to begin discussions on this matter as soon as possible. It has engaged with Senate members for its successful passage. The Ensuring Integrity or EI Bill aims to protect organizations and make it a point to combat anyone in the union movement that do not abide by the law. Here are other provisions for the bill: PROVISIONS FOR DISQUALIFICATION “Disqualify officials of Registered Organisations from holding office, or standing for office, should they be found to have deliberately broken workplace laws, not acted in members’ interests, or not be fit and proper people (for example, having broken a criminal law);” PROVISIONS FOR DEREGISTRATION “Deregistration of Registered Organisations, or a part thereof, should it (or officers or members) be found to have deliberately broken workplace laws, or not acted in their members’ interest. There are also new provisions regarding the placing of Registered Organisation into administration; and PROVISIONS FOR PUBLIC INTEREST TEST “A public interest test for Registered Organisation (e.g. union) amalgamations, which is expressed in the positive – i.e. that it is ‘in the public interest’, rather ‘not contrary to the public interest” For unions that are planning to merge, if the Ensuring Integrity Bill is passed as law will also introduce requirements that need to be complied with which also includes national laws. This bill would definitely ensure that any union merger will break any laws in the future or is just looking to incite any illegal actions, most importantly, will remain in the national interest. You can say that this Bill is something the Australian parliament can and should do to avoid any behavior that will provoke. (source: https://www.mbav.com.au/news-information/news/industrial-relations/parliament-must-ensure-integrity-registered-organisations?industrial-relations)