Beefed-up cop is back

In an effort to boost productivity in the building and construction sector and tackle lawlessness, the Coalition government has revealed the finer details of the soon-to-be-reintroduced Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC).

Since 2009, the construction industry has been besieged by large influxes of strike activity. Illegal strikes and intimidation are becoming more commonplace, such as the infamous Grocon blockade in August 2012, where unionists blocked entry to Melbourne's Myer Emporium construction site for over two weeks in breach of two Supreme Court injunctions.

As part of the ABCC's reintroduction, maximum penalties for breaches of workplace laws will be roughly double – up to $110,000 for companies and $22,000 for individuals. The ABCC will also acquire tougher coercive powers, while the government will introduce a national building and construction code for government-funded projects.

The reintroduction of these powers to the commission addresses the shortcomings that led some in the industry to label Labor's regulator as a 'toothless tiger.'

One of the changes to the building industry regulator which the Labor government implemented was a prohibition on investigations where the parties had come to an agreement. This meant unions could, and often did, inflict large losses on companies, and would bully and intimidate workers with the knowledge that so long as an agreement was eventually reached with the employer, an investigation would be avoided.

Smaller companies simply found it too expensive and time consuming to enter into their own legal battles, and had little choice but to agree to the union's costly demands. In instances where a successful case was brought against militant unions or against rogue companies, the penalties dished out were too small to act as an effective deterrent.

The Coalition government will scrap the prohibition which means the commission will now be able to pursue penalties against unions even after an employer and the union have come to an agreement.

There are, however, concerns by unions and workers over the commission's power to compel testimony from witnesses. Individuals ought to maintain their rights against self-incrimination, but a regulator may need these powers to gather evidence for its investigations. Bodies such as the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission have, and use, these powers.

With tougher powers granted to the ABCC, it is now up to the commission to use them effectively and responsibly.

Alexander Philipatos is a Policy Analyst at The Centre for Independent Studies.