Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation

[2014] FWCD 105

[2014] FWCD 105

DECISION

Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009
s.159—Alteration of other rules of organisation
Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation
(R2013/71)
MR ENRIGHT	MELBOURNE, 6 JANUARY 2014
Alteration of other rules of organisation.

[1] On 24 December 2013, the Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation lodged

with the Fair Work Commission a notice and declaration setting out particulars of alterations
to the rules of the Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation.

[2] The particulars provide for the alteration of existing rule 2 and the insertion of new rules 40A, 40B, 40C, 40D and 40E into the rules of the organisation. 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] Regulation 126(1) of the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Regulations 2009 (the Regulations) requires an alteration of the rules of a registered organisation to be lodged within 35 days after the alteration is made or within any additional period that the General Manager may allow. The notification was lodged with the Commission on 24 December 2013.

[5] The declaration that accompanied the notifications indicates that the alterations were made by the Federal Council of the Federation on 21 June 2013. Communication between the staff of the Fair Work Commission and the Federation indicates that the failure to lodge the notification within the 35 day time limit allowed by regulation 126 was due to a misconception that the Federation had lodged the notification promptly. Once the misconception was discovered the documents were lodged with the Commission without further delay.

[6] Regulation 126(1) provides me with the discretion to allow any additional period for lodgement of this notification. The words “any additional period” do not import any constraint on the timing of or on the length of the additional period. On this occasion I have exercised my discretion to allow an additional period of five months, being the period between 35 days after the alterations were made on 21 June 2013 and when they were lodged with the Commission on 24 December 2013.

[2014] FWCD 105

[7] The rules largely incorporate the requirements of the Amendment Act. However, for the following reasons, I believe the rules do not meet all of the requirements of the Fair Work

(Registered Organisations) Act 2009 (the RO Act).

[8] The RO Act requires these disclosures to apply to officers as defined in section 6. The rule book of the organisation contained an existing definition of officer which limited it to the members of the Federal Executive. These alterations expand that definition to match that contained within section 6 but only for any reference to officer within rules 40A to 40E.

[9] Rules 40A through 40E contain the rules relating to policies, disclosures and training. However, they do not contain the new definitions which are essential to the proper operation of these rules. The definitions were inserted within existing rule 2 and are therefore subject to the more limited definition of officer. This affects the operation of, and consequently the rules relying upon, the following definitions:

	Declared person or body;
	Relevant remuneration;
	Relevant non-cash benefits; and

 Remuneration.

[10] Notwithstanding the omissions noted above, the substance of the rule alterations does comply with the statutory requirements. Although further alterations are needed this does not prevent the certification of the alterations that have been made. However, the definition of officer, as it applies in the relevant definitions, will need to be amended by the organisation as expeditiously as possible in order to ensure full compliance with the provisions of the Amendment Act.

[11] On 6 January 2014, the Commission received consent from Mr Nick Buckmaster, Federal Secretary, under subsection 159(2) of the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act

2009, for the Delegate to make various amendments to the alterations for the purpose of

correcting typographical, clerical or formal errors. Accordingly the following corrections have

been made:

	In proposed rule 2, a reference in the definition of relevant remuneration to rule 17B(1) was corrected to refer to sub-rule 40B;
	In proposed rule 2, a reference in the definition of declared person or body to rule 17(c)(1) was corrected to sub-rule 40C; and
	In proposed rule 2, an additional space was inserted into the definition of declared
person or body between ‘Branch’ and ‘has’.

[2014] FWCD 105

[12] 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.

DELEGATE OF THE GENERAL MANAGER

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