Industrial Relations Regulations (Amendment) 1993 No. 330
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Statutory Rules 1993 No. 330
Issued by the authority of the Minister for Industrial Relations
Industrial Relations Act 1988
Industrial Relations Regulations (Amendment)
Subsection 359 (1) of the Industrial Relations Act 1988 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations for the purposes of the Act.
Paragraph 4 (1) (f) of the Act excludes from "public sector employment" employment by those in a prescribed class. The Industrial Relations Regulations (the Regulations) list those authorities included in the prescribed class.
The Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation Limited (SMEC) is listed in a Schedule to the Regulations in force under the Act (Schedule 3) which excludes its employees from being deemed to be in the public sector. Now that the Commonwealth has sold SMEC the exclusion is no longer necessary as employment with SMEC can no longer be public sector employment for the purposes of the Act.
The Regulations amend the Regulations to remove SMEC from Schedule 3 of the Regulations from 9 November 1993 the day on which the SMEC sale was completed.
The Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation Limited Sale Act 1993 (the Sale Act) provides the legal framework for the sale of SMEC.
Subsection 39(1) of the Sale Act provides that subsection 48(2) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (which provides that retrospective regulations will have no effect if they adversely affect the rights of a person or impose liabilities on a person) does not apply to regulations made under any Act that:
(a) are connected with the sale of SMEC; and
(b) include a declaration that the Governor-General is satisfied that they are connected with the sale of SMEC; and
(c) are expressed to take effect on the sale day.
Subsection 39 (2) of the Sale Act provides that regulations covered by subsection (1) take effect on the sale day.
The Regulations are connected with the sale of SMEC and are made for the purposes of subsection 39 (1) of the Sale Act.
The Minister for Finance has declared 9 November 1993 as sale day by notice in Special Gazette No S 334 on Thursday 11 November 1993.
Details of the Regulations are as follows.
Regulation 1 provides for the amendment of the Industrial Relations Regulations.
Regulation 2 removes SMEC from the fist of prescribed Commonwealth authorities for which public sector employment is defined.
Regulation 3 provides that these regulations are connected with the sale of SMEC.
The Regulations take effect on the sale day.
Overview
The Industrial Relations Regulations (Amendment) 1993 No. 330, issued under the authority of the Minister for Industrial Relations, amends the Industrial Relations Regulations to address the change in status of the Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation Limited (SMEC) following its sale by the Commonwealth. This legislation is enacted by the Parliament of Australia to ensure that the Industrial Relations Act 1988 is updated in light of the privatisation of SMEC, thereby reflecting the current employment landscape and removing the exclusion that had previously classified SMEC employees as outside the public sector. The policy objective of this amendment is to align the regulatory framework with the commercial realities of the sale, ensuring that the rights and obligations of employees are appropriately managed post-privatisation.
Scope and Application
The Industrial Relations Regulations (Amendment) 1993 No. 330 pertains to the Industrial Relations Act 1988, and it applies to the regulation of industrial relations specifically in relation to the Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation Limited (SMEC). This legislation is designed to amend the existing Industrial Relations Regulations by removing SMEC from Schedule 3, which previously excluded its employees from being classified as public sector employees. As the Commonwealth has privatised SMEC, the exclusion is no longer necessary, and these regulations ensure that the employees of SMEC are now subject to the same industrial relations laws as other non-public sector employees. The amendments take effect from 9 November 1993, the day the sale of SMEC was completed, as declared by the Minister for Finance. The regulations also ensure that the changes do not adversely affect any person's rights or impose new liabilities, in accordance with the provisions of the Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation Limited Sale Act 1993 and the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.
Key Provisions
The main operative sections of the Industrial Relations Regulations (Amendment) 1993 No. 330 are set out in Regulation 1, which amends the Industrial Relations Regulations, and Regulation 2, which removes the Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation Limited (SMEC) from the list of prescribed Commonwealth authorities (section 1). Regulation 3 declares that these regulations are connected with the sale of SMEC. These provisions effectively exclude SMEC employees from being deemed to be in the public sector for the purposes of the Industrial Relations Act 1988, following the sale of SMEC by the Commonwealth. Regulation 4 specifies that the regulations take effect on the sale day, which is 9 November 1993.
The Industrial Relations Regulations (Amendment) 1993 No. 330 imposes certain obligations on the parties governed by the regulations. Specifically, it removes SMEC from the list of prescribed Commonwealth authorities for which public sector employment is defined (section 2). This means that employees of SMEC are no longer considered to be in the public sector for the purposes of the Industrial Relations Act 1988. The regulations also require that any regulations made under the Act that are connected with the sale of SMEC, and include a declaration that the Governor-General is satisfied that they are connected with the sale of SMEC, will take effect on the sale day (section 3).
Failure to comply with the Industrial Relations Regulations (Amendment) 1993 No. 330 may result in civil or criminal consequences. However, the explanatory statement does not provide specific details on the penalties or consequences for breach of the regulations. It is important to note that the regulations are connected with the sale of SMEC, and are made for the purposes of subsection 39 (1) of the Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation Limited Sale Act 1993. As such, any retrospective effect of the regulations is exempted under subsection 48(2) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901, which provides that retrospective regulations will have no effect if they adversely affect the rights of a person or impose liabilities on a person. The Minister for Finance has declared 9 November 1993 as sale day by notice in Special Gazette No S 334 on Thursday 11 November 1993.