NEW fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) laws are set to commence in Queensland after the passing of legislation in Parliament last week.

Introduced in November last year, the Strong and Sustainable Resource Communities Bill 2016 affects large resources projects with more than 100 employees, based 125 kilometres from a regional centre with at least 200 residents.

It means companies will not be allowed to use a 100 percent FIFO workforce for resource projects located near regional communities.

A new provision in the Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 will be introduced which prevents companies “discriminating against locals in the future recruitment of workers and allow FIFO workers to move into the local community if they want to”. The Explanatory Notes to the Bill made the observation that there was no precedent for such a provision.

A recruitment hierarchy within the Bill prioritises recruitment from local and regional communities, followed by recruitment of workers who will live in a regional community.

The State’s Coordinator-General can include or exclude towns on a case-by-case basis. The Coordinator-General will also have the power to include construction where a suitable workforce may exist in the community and have additional powers to enforce compliance.

If the owner of a large resource project fails to meet their obligations under this legislation, the Coordinator General may require a project owner to prepare an operational workforce management plan.  Conditions in relation to such a plan may also be imposed.

The legislation will also permit the Coordinator General to impose approval conditions on projects subject to an Environment Impact Statement (EIS) under the Environmental Protection Act 1994 whereas previously this ability only existed for projects requiring an EIS under the State Development and Public Works Organisation Act 1971.

The passing of the Bill is in line with the Queensland Parliament Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources Committee’s handing down of its final report. The report made 19 recommendations, a number of which will be adopted through the legislation, although in response to resources sector concerns there is no retrospective policy application.

At that time the report was issued, AREEA noted it contained alarming recommendations, with the Committee recommending the Bill not only be passed, but calling for measures that would take the regulation and restrictions of FIFO in the state even further.

In its submission to the Committee, AREEA warned that the SSRC Bill would have a negative impact on the perception of Queensland as a place to invest and conduct business. This was a concern shared by other business groups.  AREEA highlighted that:

• The industry has maintained consistently that the SSRC Bill and the associated guidelines are unnecessary, and are a potentially very damaging over-reaction to unique and isolated developments during the peak of the mining investment ‘boom’.
• The objective of the proposed legislation (that residents of communities in the vicinity of large resource projects benefit from the operation of the projects) is already met without imposing additional legislation and regulation.
• The SSRC Bill would simply add further regulation to this already unfavourable convergence of conditions in which Queensland is under considerable scrutiny from investors concerned about the costs, timeliness and practicality of doing business in this state.

AREEA has consistently advocated that regulation impacting the resources industry should refrain from imposing any additional and unnecessary administrative burden. The failure of the Queensland Government to properly address these concerns is disappointing.  AREEA notes that the passage of this Bill comes while another piece of legislation that will increase regulatory burden for the resources sector, the Labour Hire Licensing Bill 2017, sits before parliament.

AREEA is concerned that the enormous benefits brought by major resource projects to the State as well as local and regional communities will be put at risk if the State Government continues to impose unnecessary and ill-conceived regulation on business.

For further information on these policy issues, please email [email protected] or call 1800 627 771.