Progress of the proposed transition of Local Governments to the State IR system

The progress of the proposed transition of Local Governments (including Regional Councils) (Local Governments) to the State industrial relations (IR) system is on hold with the calling of the 2022 Federal election which will be held on 21 May 2022.

At present, the outstanding steps for the proposed transition reported in the March 2022 SIRT Bulletin remain unchanged. However, as a member of the Local Government Taskforce, WALGA was provided with a copy of the draft regulations to declare WA Local Government employers not to be national system employers for the purpose of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FW Act). The draft was provided on a confidential basis for the purposes of consultation only and to ensure the names listed in the regulations were correct.

Next Sector Reference Group meeting
 
The next Sector Reference Group meeting will be convened once WALGA has an update on the new Federal Government’s position to endorse the declaration for Local Government not to be a national system employer under s.14 of the FW Act.
 
Previous SRG meeting agendas, summaries and PowerPoint slides can be found here.
 
WALGA advocacy
 
WALGA continues to advocate for Local Governments on the proposed State IR transition, including about the commencement of the transition (the ‘relevant day’) and the resourcing requirements of the sector should the transition occur.
 
On Monday 4 April 2022, we wrote to all CEOs of Local Governments asking them to complete a short three question survey to confirm our understanding of their position on the potential transfer of their workforce to the State IR system i.e., whether they continued to oppose the transition. If you have not already completed the survey, we would appreciate you completing the survey as soon as possible.

Your feedback will assist us to engage at the political level to better represent Local Governments.
 
Please contact us if you require further information about the survey or our advocacy.

Independent advocacy

We have prepared some useful resources if you wish to undertake your own advocacy in addition to WALGA’s advocacy. These were circulated with our correspondence to CEOs on 4 April 2022. A further copy can be obtained via employeerelations@walga.asn.au.

The independent voice of your Local Government will provide politicians with additional information to make decisions about the best IR system for WA Local Government to operate within, and the support that Local Governments require should the proposed State IR transition proceed.

WALGA will continue to update you on key changes and impacts as they arise via the State IR Transition Bulletin.
 
If you subscribe to the WALGA Employee Relations service and have any questions about this alert, please email WALGA Employee Relations or call 1300 366 956.