Call for sham contracting research tenders: ABCC

The Australian Building and Construction Commissioner is requesting tender submissions to conduct research into sham contracting in the building and construction industry.

The request for submissions follows on from the ABCC’s Sham Contracting Inquiry Report in November last year, which recommended that the ABCC conduct research to develop a clearer understanding of sham contracting in the building and construction industry.

In a media release, ABC Commissioner Leigh Johns said, “We took the first step in this process in December 2011, establishing a Sham Contracting Research Advisory Committee consisting of eight industry stakeholders and academics.

“The Advisory Committee has since decided that in order to find out about the nature of sham contracting, we need to inquire more generally into the nature of contracting for personal labour in the industry.”

The ABCC’s aim is to use the findings to build a more accurate picture of sham contracting in the building and construction industry - specifically, how many contracting relationships are genuine and how many are misclassifications. From there, the ABCC will work with industry stakeholders to develop effective solutions that protect both employers and workers.

“I hope the research identifies the motivation and intentions of both parties when defining an employment relationship,” Commissioner Johns said. “I am concerned about the possibility of building workers being coerced into becoming an independent contractor, when they should be categorised as an employee.”

He added that sham contracting “adversely affects decent employers who face an invidious choice of either joining in the indecency of sham contracting or going out of business, and it hurts workers through a reduced capacity to enjoy basic conditions of employment, work security and access to formal training”.

Interested parties will have until 19 March 2012 to submit tender applications. Research is expected to begin mid-April 2012.