Legislation passed to abolish the ABCC
21 March, 2012The Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) is to be abolished after the Building and Construction Industry (Transition to Fair Work) Bill was passed in the Senate on 20 March. The Office of the Fair Work Building Industry Inspectorate will replace the ABCC.
Industry bodies disagree with IPART’s ‘fair and reasonable’ solar price
16 March, 2012The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal’s (IPART’s) recommendations for solar power pricing have caused quite the industry stir.
Unions to take legal action over energy privatisation
14 March, 2012Unions NSW said it will take action in the Industrial Relations Commission (IRC) in response to the state government’s move to privatise electricity generators.
Coalition introduces Bill to reinstate solar hot water rebate
14 March, 2012The Coalition’s Greg Hunt gave notice on 13 March to introduce a Private Members’ Bill to restore the solar hot water rebate. The Bill will demand the government commit to the remaining $64.5 million of funding it had allocated for the solar hot water rebate scheme for 2011-2012.
Visa changes welcomed by industry
13 March, 2012Changes to the visa program for skilled migrants have been welcomed by industry groups as a solution to the skills shortage that’s being experienced - particularly in the resources sector, such as in engineering and the skilled trades.
NBN Co and Telstra Definitive Agreements commence
07 March, 2012The Definitive Agreements between NBN Co and Telstra come into force on 7 March 2012, allowing NBN Co to increase construction activity.
New code guidelines show no tolerance for illegal practices
06 March, 2012New implementation guidelines for the National Code of Practice for the Construction Industry will make the process of tendering for government-funded building works much simpler, Bill Shorten, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, said.
ACA criticises amendments to building industry legislation
21 February, 2012The latest amendments to the Building and Construction Industry Improvement Amendment (Transition to Fair Work) Bill 2011 have been criticised by the Australian Constructors Association (ACA).
ABCC initiates inquiry into evidence errors
17 February, 2012The Australian Building and Construction Commissioner, Leigh Johns, has called for an inquiry into the ABCC’s deficient management of evidence in a 2009 committal hearing in the Melbourne Magistrates Court.
Call for sham contracting research tenders: ABCC
14 February, 2012The Australian Building and Construction Commissioner is requesting tender submissions to conduct research into sham contracting in the building and construction industry.
ISO/IEC plug-and-play standard enables seamless technology
23 January, 2012The newest parts of an International Standard for Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) will help devices to seamlessly cross multivendor and multitechnology networks - another step forward for intelligent homes and offices. UPnP technology together with enabling home automation technologies such as KNX (ISO/IEC 14543-3) or Echonet (ISO/IEC 14543-4) makes this possible, because it allows devices to connect and work together, facilitating multiple applications like entertainment, energy efficiency, security and building control, through data and resource sharing, communications, the internet and simplified network establishment.
The significance of network integrity in premise cabling
03 January, 2012Premise or customer cabling is defined as “cabling beyond the carrier’s network boundary” in the Telecommunications Act (the Act) and involves any cabling that can connect a device to the telecommunications network.
How do you determine if a worker is an employee or a contractor?
03 January, 2012 by Patricia Ryan*Many businesses enjoy the flexibility of engaging contractors for certain projects or to assist during busy periods. However, confusion often arises as to whether these so-called contractors are regarded by the law as such. Whether a person is a contractor or an employee will be a question of fact to be determined on a case-by-case basis, taking into account all the relevant factors of the relationship.
New lighting regulations in the US in 2012
21 December, 2011The upcoming lighting legislation in the US will mandate that lighting manufacturers cease the production of non-efficient lighting and related products, which will change the way facilities consume energy and maintain lighting.
Dimetix FLS-C distance measuring device
12 December, 2011The Dimetix FLS-C is an optical distance measuring device that measures distances - on natural and reflecting surfaces - up to 500 m without contact.
