Australian Education Union

[2013] FWCD 7429

[2013] FWCD 7429

DECISION

Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009
s.159—Alteration of other rules of organisation
Australian Education Union
(R2013/264)
MR ENRIGHT	MELBOURNE, 26 SEPTEMBER 2013
Alteration of other rules of organisation.

[1] On 12 June 2013 the ACT Branch of the Australian Education Union (the Branch)

lodged with the Fair Work Commission a notice and declaration setting out particulars of
alterations to the rules of the Australian Education Union.

[2] The particulars provide for the alteration of ACT Federal Branch Rules 31 and 34. The alterations were made for the purpose of complying with provisions of the Fair Work

(Registered Organisations) Amendment Act 2012 (the Amendment Act) regarding the rules of

registered organisations. In particular, the alterations provide for specified disclosures, the implementation of policies relating to expenditure and the mandatory training of officers with duties that relate to the financial management of the organisation.

[3] On the information contained in the notice, I am satisfied the alterations have been made under the rules of the organisation.

[4] On 3 July 2013, the Fair Work Commission’s Regulatory Compliance Branch wrote to the Branch in relation to the alterations. The correspondence requested a submission about whether the ACT TAFE Division of the Branch was a branch of the organisation. It noted that ‘If the ACT TAFE Division is a Branch of the ACT Branch then the rules as notified do not sufficiently cover the disclosure requirements of the ACT TAFE Division, and the Branch will need to make further alterations which provide for such disclosures.’

[5] The Branch provided a written response on 3 September 2013. It submitted that ‘the AEU ACT TAFE Division is not a Branch ... because the structure of the AEU ACT Branch incorporates all TAFE members within it as a single branch, with no separate administrative, financial or decision-making processes’ before referring to a number of ACT Federal Branch Rules which, in its view, supported its submission. It also noted that ‘In practice... the TAFE Council makes recommendations to Branch Executive that may or may not be accepted by that body. In addition Rule 51 [e] states that: ''The Branch TAFE Council shall have no power of an 'office' as defined in Section 9 of the FW [RO] Act 2009".’

[2013] FWCD 7429

[6] I accept these submissions. Having regard to the submissions, the ACT Federal Branch Rules and to the rules of the organisation as a whole, I do not consider the ACT TAFE Division to be a Branch. As a result, further alterations pertaining to the ACT TAFE Division are not necessitated by the Amendment Act.

[7] The Amendment Act[1]provides that alterations to rules of an organisation for the purpose of making provision as required by the Amendment Act can be certified by the General Manager during a transition period which commenced on 29 June 2012. Any alteration to rules that is certified during the transition period, however, does not take effect until the date of certification or the commencement of Part 2 of Schedule 1 to the Amendment

Act, whichever occurs later. Part 2 of Schedule 1 to the Amendment Act commences on

1 January 2014.[2]

[1]See Item 38 of Schedule 1 to the Amendment Act.

[2]See Section 2 of the Amendment Act.

[8] In my opinion, the alterations comply with and are not contrary to the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009 (the RO Act), the Amendment Act, the Fair Work Act 2009, modern awards and enterprise agreements, and are not otherwise contrary to law. I

certify accordingly under subsection 159(1) of the RO Act as modified by item 38 of

Schedule 1 to the Amendment Act.

DELEGATE OF THE GENERAL MANAGER

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