On 10 August 2017, the Fair Work Amendment (Corrupting Benefits) Act 2017 (Corrupting Benefits Act) was passed by Parliament. The legislation will come into operation shortly on a date to be proclaimed following Royal Assent.

The Corrupting Benefits Act varies the Fair Work Act 2009 to:

• Make it a criminal offence for a person to give, receive or solicit a “corrupting benefit”;
• Make it a criminal offence for an employer to provide any cash or in kind payment to a union (other than certain specified payments) and make it a criminal offence for a union to solicit or receive such a payment;
• Require union bargaining representatives for a proposed enterprise agreement to disclose any financial benefits that the union would derive because of a term of the agreement; and
• Require employers to disclose any financial benefits that they would receive because of a term of a proposed enterprise agreement.

Hefty penalties apply for the breaches of the Corrupting Benefits Act.

Do you require further advice?

For advice relating to compliance with the Corrupting Benefits Act, enterprise bargaining with unions or managing union relationships please contact your local Ai Group Workplace lawyer in Sydney, Newcastle, Wollongong, Melbourne or Brisbane or by email on info@aigroupworkplacelawyers.com.au.