AREEA’s April 2011 submission to the Australian Building & Construction Commission’s inquiry into sham contracting arrangements in the building and construction industry argued that before introducing extra compliance burdens on employers in the industry, the ABCC needed to collect hard evidence about the alleged extent of sham contracting.
AREEA’s submission also said that a targeted education campaign should be the first step before any additional enforcement mechanisms were introduced. In the event that any additional compliance mechanisms were implemented, AREEA said there should be no extra monitoring of contracting arrangements involving individuals earning more than $113,800 a year (the current unfair dismissal threshold). The ABCC should focus its efforts on vulnerable and low-paid workers that were being exploited through sham contracting arrangements rather than highly-paid professionals that were entering such arrangements voluntarily, AREEA said.
Download AREEA’s submission here.