Award Simplification

Under the Transitional Provisions of the Workplace Relations and Other Legislation Amendment Act 1996 (the WROLA Act), the Commission is required to review all federal awards as soon as practicable after 1 July 1998. The purpose of the review is to ensure that awards only contain the twenty allowable award matters (as specified in section 89A of the Workplace Relations Act 1996), or provisions which are incidental to such matters and necessary for the effective operation of the award. In addition, the Commission is required to ensure awards meet certain other legislative criteria. These include requirements that the award be written in plain English with obsolete clauses deleted, that it contain properly fixed minimum rates of pay and that its provisions do not unfairly restrict or hinder productivity and the efficient performance of work. There are also requirements that a simplified award not contain discriminatory provisions or matters of detail best dealt with by agreement at the enterprise or workplace level.

In addition to the requirements under the WROLA Act, the Commission and the Industrial Registrar are also required, under section 151 of the Workplace Relations Act 1996, to ensure that awards not varied for up to five years are reviewed and set aside if they no longer have any substantial continuing operation.

( Chart 3 -Award Simplification and s. 151 Review Progress as at 30 June 2000)

When the award simplification process began in 1997 there were 3,211* federal awards. As of 30 June 2000:

• 2013 (63 per cent of awards) had been simplified, superseded, set aside, ceased operation or been identified as not requiring review;
• 1131 (35 per cent) were undergoing simplification;
  
• 62 awards (1.9 per cent) were still to begin simplification, and
• 5 awards (0.1 per cent) were to be reviewed under section 151 of the Act.

The Commission has introduced a number of measures aimed at ensuring the most efficient handling of the award simplification process. These have included the establishmen in February 1998 of a specialist Award Simplification Panel under the leadership of Senior Deputy President Marsh and the development of various resources for parties undertaking simplification. On 1 September 1999 the six-Member Award Simplification Panel was disbanded and simplification work assigned to Members across the Commission. The move aimed to extend expertise in award simplification throughout the Commission and to provide some efficiencies such as allowing for simplification hearings and conferences to be programmed in conjunction with other proceedings. To facilitate the transition, between 1 September 1999 and 1 April 2000 Senior Deputy President Marsh retained responsibility for national coordination of simplification. Another measure introduced in the reporting period was the development of an Award Simplification Resource Book, which is accessible through the AIRC Home Page and regularly updated.

(Chart 4 - Award Simplification progress as at 30 June 2000 - detailed)