United Voice

[2013] FWCD 8835

[2013] FWCD 8835

DECISION

Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009
s.159—Alteration of other rules of organisation
United Voice
(R2013/97)
MR ENRIGHT	MELBOURNE, 9 DECEMBER 2013
Alteration of other rules of organisation.

[1] On 1 July 2013 United Voice lodged with the Fair Work Commission (the Commission) a notice and declaration setting out particulars of alterations to the rules of

United Voice.

[2] The particulars provide for the insertion of new rules 26A, 26B, 26C, 26D, 26E, 26F, 26G and 26H 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 28 June 2013 further amendments to the Amendment Act were passed by Parliament. The Commission wrote to United Voice on 12 July 2013 to provide a summary of the changes.

[4] On 14 November 2013 the Commission wrote further correspondence to United Voice and provided specific recommendations for the application, which included the implications of the abovementioned legislative changes upon the proposed rules. In that correspondence, the Commission advised that the proposed rule 26 and the final sentence of the proposed sub- rule 26B(a) stated that the rules would apply with effect from 1 July 2013. These statements were no longer correct due to the legislative changes. As such, rule 26 and the final sentence of sub-rule 26B(a) appeared to be severable from the other alterations contained in the notice of particulars.

[5] On 29 November 2013, United Voice provided a further declaration of the National Secretary of United Voice, Louise Tarrant, in support of the application. In that declaration, dated 29 November 2013, Ms Tarrant acknowledged that rule 26 and the final sentence of sub-rule 26B(a) were severable from the other alterations, and that United Voice did not seek to press those alterations.

[6] I am satisfied that the proposed rule 26 and the final sentence of the proposed sub-rule

26B(a) are severable from the other alterations contained in the notice of particulars, in light
[2013] FWCD 8835

of the principles set out by the majority in Re Food Preservers’ Union of Australia (1998) 79
ALR 138.

[7] On the information contained in the notice and the further declaration of 29 November 2013, I am satisfied the alterations have been made under the rules of the organisation.

[8] In the declaration of 29 November 2013, Ms Tarrant also provided consent, 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 26A the proposed definition of “relevant remuneration” the word “of” was altered to the word “by” so that the definition would only refer to remuneration paid to officers by the Union;

 In proposed sub-rule 26B(a) the word “and” was inserted between the words

“branches” and “regarding”; an additional comma was inserted after the word
“officers”; and the word “and” which was after the word “officers” was deleted;

	In proposed sub-rules 26C(a) and 26D(a) the word “of” was inserted after the words “each officer of the Union and”;
	In proposed sub-rule 26C(c) the words “each of” were inserted between the words “and for” and “those officers”;
	In proposed sub-rule 26C(c) each occurrence of the word “Officers’” was changed to the word “Officer’s”, where the apostrophe is moved behind the “s” so that the reference was clearly to each individual officer;
	In proposed sub-rules 26C(d) and 26D(d) the words “, in relation to” were inserted after the words “in writing”, and the word “and” was inserted after the first occurrence of the words “financial year”;
	In proposed rule 26D(a), the first occurrence of the words “that relates to the affairs of the Union” was deleted, and a comma was inserted before the second occurrence of the same words;
	In proposed rule 26E(a), the sub-rule was altered to state as follows:

“The Union must disclose to the members of the Union and its branches

(and the branch must disclose to the members of the branch), either

(a)	each payment made by the Union (or branch) during the disclosure period, to a related party of the Union (or branch) or to a declared person or body of the Union (or branch); or
(b)	the total of the payments made by the Union (or branch), during the disclosure period, to each related party of the Union (or branch) or to each declared person or body of the Union (or branch)”

[2013] FWCD 8835

[9] 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.

[10] In my opinion, the alterations, with the exception of the proposed insertions of rule 26 and the final sentence of sub-rule 26B(a), 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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