NECA calls for more competition in the ACT power market
26th September 2016
The Executive Director of the National Electrical and Communications Association (NECA), Mr Oliver Judd, has called upon the ACT Government to legislate for the introduction of competition into the ACT electrical connection market, following recent reports of connection delays for new apartment dwellers in the Canberra suburb of Franklin.
New residents moved into the apartments, only to... MORE
New ASP Scheme Rules released
20th September 2016
The NSW Department of Industry has now released an updated ASP Scheme Rules.
These were gazetted on Friday 16 September and are therefore now in operation.
The changes incorporated in the new Rules relate mainly to regrading requests... MORE
Service and Installantion Rules
13th September 2016
The NSW Department of Industry has now released updated Service and Installation Rules.
The Rules have been updated to help facilitate the market-led rollout of smart meters in NSW.
Summary of changes
There have been significant changes to the Rules, with the main changes being:
Previous Period of Regular and Systematic Casual Employment Counts in Calculating Redundancy Pay
5th September 2016
In a 2-1 split, the majority of the Fair Work Commission Full Bench held that employers will have to count periods of regular and systematic casual employment before workers became permanent, when calculating redundancy payments.
Earlier this year, Commissioner Riordan ruled that employers should not count prior continuous service as a casual when determining notice and redundancy... MORE
Integrate provides Future Forecast for Work and Play
15th August 2016
From virtual reality huddle spaces to the growing success of multi-media festivals such as Vivid, integrated technologies are undoubtedly on the cutting edge of making our vision of the future a reality.
Australia’s largest event for leaders and professionals in the AV industry, Integrate, is set return to Sydney this 23-25 August to offer a glimpse... MORE
NECA would like your feedback for our submission on apprenticeships and traineeships
8th August 2016
The NSW Government has announced a review of the Apprenticeship and Traineeship Act 2001. The Act regulates the employment and training of apprentices and trainees in NSW.
To this end, a consultation paper has been released, which canvasses issues organised around the following key... MORE
Fair Work Commission varies annual leave provisions in several awards including the Electrical, Electronic and Communications Contracting Award 2010.
4th August 2016
The Fair Work Commission has now finalised the model terms in relation to cashing out annual leave, leave in advance, payment by EFT and excessive leave for most modern awards including the Electrical, Electronic and Communications Contracting Award 2010 (the “Electrical Contracting Award”). Final determinations varying modern awards have been issued with provisions generally taking effect... MORE
ASP 2s confirmed as automatically qualifying for smart meters
19th July 2016
NECA has now confirmed with the Division of Resources and Energy (within the NSW Department of Industry) that ASP 2s will automatically qualify for the roll-out of smart meters in NSW.
Section 9.3 of the government’s recently released Code for safe installation of direct-connected whole current electricity metering in NSW mandates that:
“A metering provider must have installing... MORE
Subcontractors cannot be required to enter into a specific enterprise agreements
1st June 2016
Fair Work Building and Construction (FWBC) has become aware that at least one building contractor in Victoria appears to be making it a requirement for its subcontractors to enter into the proposed draft CFMEU Enterprise Agreement.
The Building Code 2013 clearly prohibits building contractors from engaging in activity that requires or attempts to unduly influence a subcontractor or... MORE
National Minimum Wage to Increase by 2.4%
1st June 2016
On Tuesday 31 May, The Fair Work Commission (FWC) handed down it’s annual wage review decision to increase the national minimum wage (NMW) and Award base rates of pay by 2.4%. The increase will take effect from first full pay period on or after 1 July 2016.
The new national minimum wage will be $672.70 per week or $17.70 per hour. The 2.4% increase is down from the 2.5%... MORE