Conciliation and
Arbitration (Electricity Industry) Act 1985
No.
50 of 1985
An
Act relating to the prevention and settlement of disputes in the electricity
industry
[Assented to 30 May 1985]
BE IT ENACTED by the Queen, and the
Senate and the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Australia, as
follows:
Short
title
1. This Act may be cited
as the Conciliation and Arbitration
(Electricity Industry) Act 1985.
Commencement
2. This Act shall come
into operation on a day to be fixed by Proclamation.
Incorporation
3. This Act is
incorporated, and shall be read as one, with the Conciliation and Arbitration
Act.
Interpretation
4. (1) In this Act—
(a)
a reference to the Conciliation and Arbitration Act is a reference to the Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1904;
(b)
a reference to the electricity industry is a reference to the industry in
Australia constituted by the generation and distribution of electrical power,
or any part of that industry;
(c)
a reference to an authority includes a reference to the Government of a State
or Territory and also includes a reference to any person or body of persons,
whether incorporated or not, on whom or on which powers are conferred by a law
of the Commonwealth, of a State or of a Territory; and
(d)
a reference to an electricity authority—
(i)
is a reference to an authority that is engaged in the electricity industry; and
(ii)
in the case of a reference to an electricity authority of Queensland—includes a
reference to a person who is engaged to carry out work (otherwise than as an
employee) in or in connection with the electricity industry for or on behalf of
an authority engaged in that industry in Queensland, whether the person is
engaged to carry out that work by that last-mentioned authority or by another
person.
(2) Without limiting the
operation of section 3, but subject to sub-section (1) of this section,
expressions used in this Act that are also used in the Conciliation and
Arbitration Act have, in this Act, unless the contrary intention appears, the
same respective meanings as those expressions have in the Conciliation and
Arbitration Act.
Modification
of Conciliation and Arbitration Act
5. This Act has effect
notwithstanding anything in the Conciliation and Arbitration Act.
Industrial
disputes to which Act applies
6. (1) This Act applies to the
industrial dispute between the Electrical Trades Union of Australia and certain
authorities that was found to exist by a Commissioner on 18 April 1985.
(2) Subject to the following
provisions of this section, this Act also applies to any industrial dispute
that has, whether before or after the commencement of this Act, been found by
the Commission to exist between—
(a)
any organization of employees that is declared by the regulations to be an
organization of employees to which this sub-section applies; and
(b)
one or more electricity authorities,
if the
industrial dispute could result in the making of an award that would be binding
on an electricity authority of Queensland and would establish terms or
conditions of employment of employees of that authority.
(3) Subject to sub-section
(4), this Act does not apply to an industrial dispute referred to in
sub-section (2) between an organization of employees and one or more
electricity authorities if—
(a)
an award made in settlement of the dispute would establish terms or conditions
of employment of employees of an electricity authority of
Queensland,
being employees who are members of, or are eligible for membership of, that
organization; and
(b)
there is already an award in operation establishing any terms or conditions of
employment of any of those employees.
(4) An industrial dispute is
not excluded by sub-section (3) from the application of this Act if there is in
force a Proclamation declaring that this Act applies to that industrial
dispute.
(5) This Act applies by
virtue of sub-section (2) to an industrial dispute between an organization of
employees and a person referred to in sub-paragraph 4 (1) (d) (ii) only in so
far as the industrial dispute relates to work referred to in that
sub-paragraph.
Expeditious
settlement of industrial disputes to which Act applies
7. Where—
(a)
the Commission has, whether before or after the commencement of this Act, found
an industrial dispute to exist; and
(b)
this Act applies to that industrial dispute,
the
Commission shall endeavour in accordance with this Act to settle the industrial
dispute as expeditiously as is appropriate having regard to all the
circumstances.
Limitation
on power of Commission to dismiss or refrain from hearing or determining
industrial dispute to which Act applies
8. (1) The Commission does
not, in relation to an industrial dispute to which this Act applies, have
power, in so far as the industrial dispute exists between an organization of
employees and one or more electricity authorities of Queensland, to dismiss a
matter or part of a matter, or refrain from further hearing or from determining
the industrial dispute, by reason that it appears to the Commission—
(a)
that the industrial dispute has been dealt with is being dealt with or is
proper to be dealt with by a State Industrial Authority of Queensland; or
(b)
that further proceedings are not necessary or desirable in the public interest.
(2) Nothing in sub-section
(1) prevents the Commission from limiting the application of an award that
relates to employees of an electricity authority of Queensland to such
employees, or such class or classes or group or groups of employees, as the
Commission thinks appropriate having regard to the work that is, or could be,
performed for that authority by members of the organization of employees
involved in the industrial dispute and by members of other organizations of
employees or of unions or other associations of employees registered under a
law of Queensland.
Proceedings
in relation to disputes to which Act applies
9. (1) Subject to this
section, any powers of the Commission in relation to—
(a)
an industrial dispute, being an industrial dispute to which this Act applies;
or
(b)
an alleged industrial dispute where, if the industrial dispute is found to
exist, this Act will apply to the industrial dispute,
shall,
after the commencement of this Act, be exercised by a Full Bench.
(2) Where proceedings before
the Commission constituted otherwise than by a Full Bench are, by reason of
sub-section (1), required to be dealt with by a Full Bench, the Full Bench may,
subject to sub-section 30 (4) of the Conciliation and Arbitration Act, have
regard to any evidence given, and any arguments adduced, in any other
proceedings (including proceedings that took place before the commencement of
this Act).
(3) Where proceedings in
relation to an industrial dispute or an alleged industrial dispute are before a
Full Bench by reason of sub-section (1), the Full Bench may direct any member
of the Commission—
(a)
to inquire into any matter involved in the industrial dispute or alleged
industrial dispute and to report to the Full Bench on that matter; or
(b)
to endeavour to settle the industrial dispute or a part of the industrial
dispute by conciliation and to report to the Full Bench on the result of the
endeavours.
(4) A member of the
Commission to whom a direction is given by a Full Bench under sub-section (3)
in relation to an industrial dispute or a part of an industrial dispute has,
for the purpose of complying with the direction, all the powers of the
Commission or of a member of the Commission under the Conciliation and
Arbitration Act other than the power to certify a memorandum, or make an award
or order, under sub-section 28 (1) of that Act and, for the purpose of the
settlement of all or any of the matters in dispute, that last-mentioned
sub-section has effect as if any reference in that sub-section to a member of
the Commission were a reference to the Full Bench.
(5) Where the member of the
Commission to whom a direction is given under sub-section (3) in relation to an
industrial dispute is a member of the Full Bench by which the direction was
given, sub-section 22 (2) of the Conciliation and Arbitration Act does not
apply but, if—
(a)
the Full Bench proposes to exercise powers with respect to arbitration in
relation to the industrial dispute;
(b)
a party to the arbitration proceedings objects to the member taking part in the
exercise of those powers; and
(c)
the Full Bench as constituted without that member is satisfied that there are
reasonable grounds for the objection,
the Full
Bench shall direct that that member shall not take part in the exercise of
those powers and, where such a direction is given, the President may appoint
another member to the Full Bench in place of the first-mentioned member.
(6) Where proceedings in
relation to an industrial dispute are before a Full Bench by reason of
sub-section (1) and the Full Bench is satisfied that it would be appropriate,
in relation to the industrial dispute, to hear and determine so much of the
industrial dispute as involves an electricity authority of Queensland or
electricity authorities of Queensland separately from any other part of the
industrial dispute, the Full Bench may make a declaration to that effect and,
where such a declaration is made—
(a)
this section ceases to apply in relation to the part of the industrial dispute
that involves employers other than electricity authorities of Queensland; and
(b)
the Commission as constituted under the Conciliation and Arbitration Act for the
purposes of the part of the industrial dispute to which this section has so
ceased to apply may, subject to sub-section 30 (4) of the Conciliation and
Arbitration Act, for the purpose of any proceedings in relation to that part of
the industrial dispute, have regard to any evidence given, and any arguments
adduced, before the declaration was made, in any proceedings in relation to the
industrial dispute before the Commission as constituted under this section.
Regulations
10. The Governor-General
may make regulations, not inconsistent with this Act, prescribing matters—
(a)
required or permitted by this Act to be prescribed; or
(b)
necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act.
Cessation
of operation of Act
11. This Act, unless sooner
repealed, shall cease to be in force at the expiration of—
(a)
the period of 3 years next following the day of commencement of this Act; or
(b)
if a day that is earlier than the last day of that period is fixed by
Proclamation that earlier day.
[Minister’s second reading speech made in
House
of Representatives on 21 May 1985
Senate
on 27 May 1985