Page 3540 - Week 10 - Tuesday, 25 August 2009
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of the bill. This resulted in agreement from both the long service leave governing boards, employer and employee representatives and all relevant unions that this proposal is in the best interests of the long service leave schemes. Indeed, it is not just a long-held desire of the construction industry and the cleaning industry to establish a single integrated portable long service leave authority but also that of the ACT government.
The bill we are debating today will see these two long service leave authorities merge into a single long service leave authority, and the commonalities of their existing schemes will be amalgamated into an overarching portable long service leave scheme. The implementation of the integrated ACT Portable Long Service Leave Authority will incorporate the existing boards and functions of the ACT Construction and Long Service Leave Authority and the ACT Cleaning Industry Long Service Leave Authority in one streamlined and efficient management framework.
There are many areas where efficiencies in administration can be made with the amalgamation of these two bodies. Synergies exist in the manner in which currently both the authorities conduct their financial reporting and their annual reporting. Synergies also exist in the way in which appointments are made to the separate authorities as well as in the daily operations of the governing bodies.
The bill achieves economies of management and administration as well as providing greater benefits and outcomes for employee members from the amalgamation while maintaining the individual integrity of the specific industry funds. The framework establishes the required administrative and management structure needed to effectively manage the long service leave provisions of the construction industry and the cleaning industry. This will provide greater benefits and outcomes for members of these schemes by creating administrative savings whilst maintaining the individual integrity of the specified industry funds.
I would like to remind members of the fact that the day-to-day administration of both of these long service leave authorities is undertaken by small, dedicated management units with one chief executive officer or registrar and one inspectorate operating with dual appointments under the current relevant acts. The administrative arrangements proposed by this bill will incorporate the current requirements into a single integrated portable long service leave authority. This single integrated portable long service leave authority will have one governing board established for both existing schemes and any future schemes. All staff involved in the single integrated authority, including the chief executive officer or registrar and the deputy registrar and inspectors, will be appointed under the provisions of this proposed legislation.
Under the current arrangement, each governing board for the construction industry and cleaning industry long service leave authorities consist of a chair, one member representing employees and one member representing employers. The bill proposes a new single governing body which will oversee the portable long service leave provisions, and the new governing board will be made up of a maximum of seven members. The governing board of the proposed new long service leave authority will initially consist of a chair, at least one member representing employer organisations, at least one member representing employee organisations and at least one member who is not appointed to represent an employer or an employee organisation.
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