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Social and Community
Services Pay Equity Special Account (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2012
Introduced into the House of
Representatives on 10 October 2012
Portfolio: Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs
Committee view
1.2
The committee considers that these bills do not appear to raise any
human rights concerns but the statement of compatibility falls short of the
committee's expectations.
Purpose of the bill
1.3
These two bills were introduced together.
1.4
The Social and Community Services Pay Equity Special Account Bill 2012
establishes the Social and Community Services Pay Equity Special Account under
the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997. The Special
Account will administer the social and community services award funding
adjustments for providers of in-scope Commonwealth programs that have been
identified as having social and community services workers covered by the Fair
Work Australia equal remuneration order.
1.5
The Social and Community Services Pay Equity Special Account
(Consequential Amendments) Bill 2012 amends the COAG Reform Fund Act 2008
to make an amendment consequential on the creation of the Social and Community
Services Pay Equity Special Account. The amendment adds a note to section 5 of
the COAG Act, to explain that an amount debited from the Special Account
can be credited to the COAG Reform Fund. Amounts are then able to be
transferred to a State or Territory, consistent with clause 8 of the Social and
Community Services Pay Equity Special Account Bill 2012.
Compatibility with human rights
Right to work and rights in work
1.6
Both bills share a single statement of compatibility, which states that
the bills engage and promote the right to work and rights in work. These rights
are recognised in articles 6 and 7 of the International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights ICESCR), and includes the right to equal pay for
work of equal value. The statement says that the creating of the Social and
Community Services Pay Equity Special Account will facilitate the
administration of funding to affected Commonwealth-funded employers with Social
and Community Services workers and enhance transparency to government'.
1.7
The committee considers that these bills do not appear to raise any
human rights concerns. However, the statement of compatibility falls short of
the committee’s expectations as it does not consider each bill individually.
1.8
The committee therefore proposes to write to the Minister for Families,
Community Services and Indigenous Affairs to outline the committee’s
expectations for statements of compatibility. In particular, the committee wishes
to highlight that the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 requires
each bill and disallowable legislative instrument to be accompanied by a
statement of compatibility. The provision of a single statement for related
bills does not meet this requirement. If a bill is not considered to engage any
human rights, the committee still expects that reasons should be given to
support this conclusion, where appropriate.
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