Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Amendment (Withdrawal from Amalgamation) Bill 2024

The majority voted in favour of a motion to agree with the main idea of the bill. In parliamentary jargon, they voted to read the bill a second time. This means the Senate can now discuss the bill in more detail.

What does this bill do?

According to the bill homepage, the bill:

Amends the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009 to enable the Manufacturing Division to de-merge from the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union, if supported by a ballot of relevant members.

According to the explanatory memorandum (which is a political document prepared by the Government, who introduced this bill):

The Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Amendment (Withdrawal from Amalgamation) Bill 2024 would amend the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009 (Registered Organisations Act) to enable the Manufacturing Division of the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (the CFMEU, an organisation registered under the Registered Organisations Act) to de-merge from the CFMEU.

The Bill would:

• enable an application to be made to the Fair Work Commission (FWC) before 31 October 2024 for a ballot to be held to decide whether the Manufacturing Division should withdraw;

• apply the provisions of the Registered Organisations Act and the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Regulations 2009 as they were immediately before commencement of Part 13 of Schedule 1 to the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes No. 2) Act 2024 , with appropriate modifications;

• specify coverage rules for the new registered organisation, if the ballot is supported by a majority of relevant members;

• provide an alternate pathway if the parties both agree (and subject to strict time limits), by way of a notice being given to the Minister which initiates a separate process to support a consensus-based approach to facilitating withdrawal; and

• require consensus on any relevant proposed alterations to the CFMEU’s eligibility rules that affect both parties before 1 January 2034.