7. Independent Contractors

• The current provisions regulating harsh or unjust contracts have been in the Commonwealth statute books for most of the 1990's, with no substantial complaint by anybody and no adverse consequences apparent.



• These legislative provisions are similar to provisions in the NSW and Queensland state industrial statutes, with these latter provisions having been in existence for long periods and having been judged as important and useful by most employee and employer organisations.



• The need for some regulation of non-employee worker relationships has never been greater, given the rapid growth in non-standard employment. In some cases whole industries are switching employees over to either dependent or independent contractor status. The Full Federal Court has recently acknowledged the inadequacies of reliance on the common law definition of employees and the vulnerability of those who may not strictly meet this definition (see Konrad v. Victoria Police (State of Victoria) FCA 988 9 August, 1999).



• In view of the rapid spread of both dependent and independent contractors (and the difficulty in distinguishing between these categories) in today's workforce, there is a case for more rigorous regulation than the current provisions.



• The Senate Committee which examined this issue in the context of the making of the 1996 Act recommended the retention of these provisions - no substantial case for their repeal was made out then or has become apparent subsequently.



• The CFMEU recently put the provisions to positive use for a bricklaying contractor member in South Australia. A $20,000 settlement was obtained after lengthy litigation that went all the way to the High Court.

United we bargain - Divided we beg.

Contact the National Office, Construction Division at:
Level 12, 276 Pitt Street, Sydney, NSW 2000
Ph: 02 8524 5800
Fax: 02 8524 5801
Email: queries@fed.cfmeu.asn.au

Postal address: PO Box Q235, Queen Victoria Building Post Office, Sydney NSW 1230.