Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Amendment Bill 2014

The majority voted in favour of passing the bill in the House of Representatives. In parliamentary jargon, they voted to read the bill for the third time.

The bill will now be sent to the Senate for their consideration.

What was the bill about?

The Government has tried to pass a bill like this several times over the past few years but hasn't been successful.

The bill was introduced to establish the Registered Organisations Commission to investigate and monitor unions and employer organisations. It also imposes a similar standard disclosure and transparency on union officials as company directors and introduces tougher criminal sanctions.

The bill targets union officials and the bills digest from back in 2014 explains that:

The current Bill has been introduced partly in response to widely publicised misconduct by officers of the Health Services Union. That misconduct has been prosecuted in civil and criminal courts.