News & Views
NSW Design and Building Practitioners Act 2019
15th July 2020
Standards Australia Want Your Feedback
9th July 2020
Standards Australia is seeking public feedback for the Standard AS 1768 Lightning Protection.
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New Workplace Exposure Standard for Silica Dust
7th July 2020
The Morrison Commonwealth is acting to protect Australian workers against the harmful effects of silica dust by reducing the workplace exposure standard (WES) for respirable crystalline silica from 1 July this year. Under the Work Health and Safety Regulations 2011 (Cth), the exposure standard will be halved from an eight-hour time-weighted average of 0.1 mg/m3 to... MORE
NSW Governments Small Business Recovery Grant is now open for applications
2nd July 2020
NSW Government's $3,000 Small Business Recovery Grant is now open for applications. NECA urges members to explore the scheme as many will be eligible for the grants.
You can use it to cover:
- marketing and advertising expenses
- ... MORE
Fair Work Commission updates on the Modern Awards 2020
23rd June 2020
There have recently been a number of determinations made by the Fair Work Commission which has led to changes to the Modern Award. These changes are set out in this article and are inclusive of the following:
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annual wage increases; and
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Installing Solar - What Every Contractor Needs to Know
16th June 2020
All Distributed Energy Resources (DER) including small-scale solar PV, battery storage and other small generators, must now be registered on the AEMO DER Register.
The DER Register has been designed to work in with existing network operator DER installation registration processes to minimise any impact... MORE
Casual Employees and the Entitlement to Paid Annual Leave and Personal Leave
9th June 2020
In the recent Full Federal Court case Workpac Pty Ltd v Rossato [2020] FCAFC 84, the Court considered the characterisation of employment and upheld the view that casual employees, who have the characteristics of permanent employees, are entitled to paid leave entitlements even if they are in receipt of a casual loading. The effect of this case is that... MORE
NECA COVID-19 Industry Impact Survey Findings
9th June 2020
Tradies are calling for urgent stimulus for households, investment in infrastructure and significant structural reforms to prevent Australia falling off an economic cliff in the coming months, according to research released today by the National Electrical and Communications Association (NECA) as it releases a Four Point Plan to Power... MORE
Introduction of new labour hire licencing scheme for the ACT
27th May 2020
On 20 February 2020, the Minister for Employment and Workplace Safety introduced a new labour hire licensing Bill to the Assembly. The Bill is the first labour hire licence scheme for ACT and has been implemented to:
- protect workers from exploitation by providers of labour hire services;
- ... MORE
A win for common sense, New guidance for construction lift use
22nd May 2020
In a welcome move by SWA, guidance on the use of construction lifts and hoists has been amended due to strong lobbying from NECA and other trade associations. The previous guidance would have only allowed one person to travel in a lift at a time which would have reduced productivity on some sites to almost a complete stop. The changes to the guidance now allow... MORE
