The ABCC’s 2021-22 Annual Report has today been tabled in the Parliament of Australia by the Hon Tony Burke MP, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations.
Key achievements
The ABCC exceeded all its key performance indicators in the 2021-22 financial year (the reporting period), with key achievements including:
- securing more than $5.2 million in payments to subcontractors following ABCC intervention
- 100 per cent success rate in the 22 cases finalised. This resulted in $3,087,438 in penalties imposed by the courts and included the highest ever penalty awarded by a court in proceedings brought by the ABCC in QLD1
- recovering more than $2.5 million in wages and entitlements for 4,330 construction industry employees
- conducting 1,638 site visits across Australia
- finalising 171 investigations and commencing 164 new investigations
- assessing 1,577 enterprise agreements and 555 workplace relations management plans
- finalising 225 Code audits and 123 Code inspections
- delivering 203 presentations to 2,692 participants.
The ABCC also had a number of significant decisions in the reporting period, including:
Pattinson decision
On 13 April 2022, the High Court handed down its decision in the Pattinson matter. This landmark decision has important implications for all Commonwealth regulators in civil penalty proceedings.
The decision confirmed that it may be open to a court to impose the maximum penalty where it is necessary to secure compliance and deter offenders from repeatedly breaking the law, even if the conduct in question was not the most serious example of misconduct.
9-month Code sanction for Landmark Roofing
Following referral from the ABCC Commissioner, in April 2022, the then Attorney-General and Minister for Industrial Relations issued a record 9-month exclusion sanction against NSW company Landmark Roofing. The company was found to have failed to comply with work health and safety laws, leading to the tragic death of an apprentice roof plumber.
You can read the full ABCC Annual Report 2021-22 on .
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2021-22 Year in review
Results against key performance indicators (PBS)
Strategic objective | KPI | Target | Status | |
Educate | 1 | Percentage of surveyed clients indicated that the agency’s presentations, advice or materials improved their understanding of workplace rights and responsibilities (PBS KPI) | 80% | ✔ Met 98.8% |
Advise and assist | 2 | Number of presentations delivered to stakeholders (PBS KPI) | 175 | ✔ Met 203 |
3 | Percentage of surveyed stakeholders who are satisfied or highly satisfied with the quality and timeliness of advice and assistance provided (PBS KPI) | 80% | ✔ Met 98.1% | |
4 | Site visits (physical) | 1,250 | ✔ Met 1,326 | |
Impartially monitor and assess compliance | 5 | Assess enterprise agreements for compliance with the Code | 1 month | ✔ Met 2.4 weeks |
6 | Compliance activities to improve compliance with designated building laws and the building codes (PBS KPI) | 475 | ✔ Met 509 | |
Use litigation and other enforcement options to drive a change in behaviour | 7 | Time taken to commence civil penalty proceedings | ✔ Met 7.9 months | |
8 | Success rate in civil penalty proceedings | 80% | ✔ Met 100% | |
