{"id":"C2004A03248","name":"Builders Labourers' Federation (Cancellation of Registration—Consequential Provisions) Act 1986","slug":"builders-labourers-federation-cancellation-of-registration-consequential-provisions-act-1986","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"7 of 1986","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":7475,"registerId":"commonwealth-C2004A03248-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-03-30","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Short title [see Note 1]","content":"#### 1 Short title \\[see Note 1\\]\n\n  This Act may be cited as the Builders Labourers’ Federation (Cancellation of Registration—Consequential Provisions) Act 1986.","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Commencement [see Note 1]","content":"#### 2 Commencement \\[see Note 1\\]\n\n  This Act shall come into operation immediately after the Builders Labourers’ Federation (Cancellation of Registration) Act 1986 comes into operation.","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"3","sectionType":"section","heading":"Interpretation","content":"#### 3 Interpretation\n\n  In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:\n\n> award means:\n\n    (a) an award made under, or a certified agreement that is taken to be an award made under, the Workplace Relations Act, as in force immediately before the commencement of the Fair Work Act; or\n    (b) an award made under the Conciliation and Arbitration Act, an order made by the Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Commission under that Act or a memorandum certified in accordance with section 28 of that Act.\n\n> Conciliation and Arbitration Act means the Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1904.\n\n> Fair Work Act means the Fair Work Act 2009.\n\n> Fair Work Australia, or FWA, means the body established by section 575 of the Fair Work Act.\n\n> Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act means the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009.\n\n> Federation means:\n\n    (a) subject to paragraph (b), the association that was registered under the Conciliation and Arbitration Act by the name “The Australian Building Construction Employees’ and Builders Labourers’ Federation”; or\n    (b) if the name of that association has been or is changed—that association under the new name.\n\n> non‑registered association means:\n\n    (a) the Federation; or\n    (b) another association:\n    (i) that is not an organisation within the meaning of the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act; and\n    (ii) that was formed in or in connection with the industry or a part of the industry in or in connection with which The Australian Building Construction Employees’ and Builders Labourers’ Federation was registered under the Conciliation and Arbitration Act immediately before the commencement of the Builders Labourers’ Federation (Cancellation of Registration) Act 1986; and\n    (iii) a substantial number of the members of which are persons who are within one or more of the following categories:\n    (A) persons who are or have been members of the Federation;\n    (B) persons who perform work that renders them eligible, or that would, if performed in another part of Australia, render them eligible, to be members of the Federation;\n    (C) persons who perform work that, if they had been performing it immediately before the commencement of the Builders Labourers’ Federation (Cancellation of Registration) Act 1986, would have rendered them eligible or would, if performed in another part of Australia, have rendered them eligible, to be members of the Federation.\n\n> State association means:\n\n    (a) each of the following associations:\n    (i) the association that was registered under the Trade Union Act 1881 of New South Wales by the name “Building Construction Employees and Builders Labourers’ Federation of New South Wales”;\n    (ii) the association that was registered under the Industrial Relations Act 1990 of Queensland by the name “Australian Building Construction Employees and Builders’ Labourers’ Federation (Queensland Branch) Union of Employees”;\n    (iii) the association that was registered under the Industrial Arbitration Act, 1979 of Western Australia by the name “The Australian Builders’ Labourers’ Federated Union of Workers—Western Australian Branch”;\n    (iv) the association that was registered under the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act, 1972 of South Australia by the name “Australian Building and Construction Workers’ Federation”;\n    (v) the association that was registered under the Industrial Relations Act 1984 of Tasmania by the name “The Australian Building Construction Employees’ and Builders Labourers’ Federation, Tasmanian Branch”; or\n    (b) if the name of an association referred to in paragraph (a) has been or is changed—that association under the new name.\n\n> Workplace Relations Act means the Workplace Relations Act 1996 (other than Schedule 1 to that Act).","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"4","sectionType":"section","heading":"Effect on Federation of cancellation of registration","content":"#### 4 Effect on Federation of cancellation of registration\n\n  (1) Subsection 143(5) of the Conciliation and Arbitration Act does not apply in relation to the Federation or its members but subsections 143(4) and (6) of that Act apply in spite of the repeal of that Act.\n  (2) Any award that would, but for this subsection, apply to the Federation or its members does not have any effect in relation to the Federation or its members.\n  (3) Subject to subsection (3A), a non-registered association:\n    (a) is not capable of being a party to a proceeding before FWA; and\n    (b) is not capable of being a party to an award made by FWA.\n  (3A) A State association, other than the Building Construction Employees and Builders Labourers’ Federation of New South Wales, may make an objection in relation to an amalgamation under section 56 of the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act and regulations made under that Act.\n  (4) Subject to subsection (5), FWA does not have any powers under the Fair Work Act or the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act in relation to an industrial dispute in so far as that industrial dispute resulted from:\n    (a) an act done by a non‑registered association or by persons who are members of a non‑registered association; or\n    (b) an act done by an employer in relation to a non‑registered association or in relation to persons who are members of a non‑registered association.\n  (5) Nothing in this section prevents FWA from exercising powers under the Fair Work Act and the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act in relation to an industrial dispute in so far as that industrial dispute involves members of an association of employees that is an organisation within the meaning of the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act who are also members of a non-registered association.","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"5","sectionType":"section","heading":"Registration","content":"#### 5 Registration\n\n  Despite anything in the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act, a non-registered association is not entitled to apply to be registered under that Act, and is not entitled to be registered under that Act, unless:\n    (a) FWA, on application by the non-registered association, has declared that it is satisfied that:\n    (i) if the non-registered association were registered under that Act, the non-registered association would not engage in conduct inimical to the prevention and settlement of industrial disputes by means of conciliation and arbitration; and\n    (ii) the registration of the non-registered association under that Act would not prevent or seriously hinder the achievement of:\n    (A) an object of the Fair Work Act; or\n    (B) Parliament’s intention in enacting the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act; and\n    (b) the requirements of the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act, and of the regulations in force under that Act, that would, apart from this section, apply in relation to an application by the non-registered association for registration under that Act have been complied with.","sortOrder":4},{"sectionNumber":"6","sectionType":"section","heading":"Powers and procedure of FWA","content":"#### 6 Powers and procedure of FWA\n\n  (1) The powers of FWA under or by virtue of this Act are exercisable by a Full Bench of FWA.\n\n> Note: A Full Bench of FWA is constituted under section 618 of the Fair Work Act.\n\n  (2) The provisions of the Fair Work Act, and of the regulations in force under that Act, with respect to the procedure and powers of FWA in relation to proceedings before it under that Act apply, so far as they are capable of application, in relation to proceedings before FWA under or by virtue of this Act.\n  (3) On an application under paragraph 5(a), the Minister and the non-registered association may be represented by counsel or solicitor.","sortOrder":5},{"sectionNumber":"7","sectionType":"section","heading":"Eligibility of certain building industry employees for membership of certain organizations","content":"#### 7 Eligibility of certain building industry employees for membership of certain organizations\n\n  (1) A reference in this section to a relevant industry is a reference to an industry in or in connection with which The Australian Building Construction Employees’ and Builders Labourers’ Federation was, immediately before the commencement of the Builders Labourers’ Federation (Cancellation of Registration) Act 1986, registered under the Conciliation and Arbitration Act.\n  (2) Where the Secretary or another executive officer of an association of employees that is an organisation within the meaning of the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act has consented in writing to persons who are, or are usually, employed in work of a specified kind or class, in Australia or in a specified part or parts of Australia, in a relevant industry being made eligible for membership of that organization, the regulations may declare those persons to be eligible for membership of that organization, and, where the regulations so declare, those regulations have effect according to their tenor notwithstanding anything in the rules of that organization as in force at the time when the regulations came into operation.\n  (3) The making of regulations for the purposes of this section declaring persons referred to in the regulations to be eligible for membership of an association of employees that is an organisation within the meaning of the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act does not preclude the making of any alteration to the rules of that organization and, if an alteration so made which has been consented to under section 36 of that Act is inconsistent with the terms of the regulations, the regulations, to the extent of the inconsistency, cease to have effect.\n  (4) Regulations made for the purposes of this section continue in force notwithstanding that a non‑registered association becomes registered under the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act.","sortOrder":6},{"sectionNumber":"8","sectionType":"section","heading":"Regulations","content":"#### 8 Regulations\n\n  The Governor‑General may make regulations, not inconsistent with this Act, prescribing matters:\n    (a) required or permitted by this Act to be prescribed; or\n    (b) necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act.","sortOrder":7}],"analysis":{"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"Unauthenticated. Configure AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY or use a provider module. Learn more: https://ai-sdk.dev/unauthenticated-ai-gateway","source":"analysis-cron"},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":6,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"Originally enacted in 1986 as consequential provisions to the immediate deregistration of the BLF, the legislation has been significantly amended to maintain its operation under subsequent industrial relations regimes. The interpretation section now references the Fair Work Act 2009 and Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009 — laws enacted 23 years after the original Act. Section 4 has been expanded to address powers of Fair Work Australia (FWA), and section 5 now incorporates modern registration requirements. The Act has effectively become a permanent mechanism for excluding specific associations from registration, rather than temporary transitional provisions, extending its scope from immediate post-deregistration cleanup to ongoing regulatory control."},"complexity_factors":["11 defined terms in the interpretation section, several with nested sub-paragraphs spanning multiple clauses","Extensive cross-referencing to three different industrial relations regimes: the repealed Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1904, the Workplace Relations Act 1996, and the Fair Work Act 2009","Complex conditional logic in section 5 requiring cumulative satisfaction of multiple criteria (FWA declaration plus compliance with standard requirements)","Nested exceptions: section 4(3A) creates an exception to the general exclusion in 4(3), and section 4(5) creates an exception to the exclusion in 4(4)","Temporal references linking operation to commencement of separate legislation (the Cancellation of Registration Act 1986)","Definition of 'non-registered association' requires tracing through three categories of membership eligibility with hypothetical geographical variations ('if performed in another part of Australia')","Section 7 creates a regulatory mechanism that overrides organisational rules but includes a sunset clause mechanism through inconsistency with later rule changes"],"plain_english_summary":"This law is a follow-up to the 1986 deregistration of the Builders Labourers' Federation (BLF), a controversial construction union. It sets out what happens after the union lost its official registration.\n\n**What it does:**\n\n- **Blocks the BLF from re-registering** as an official union unless Fair Work Australia (the industrial tribunal) is satisfied the union won't undermine the peaceful settlement of workplace disputes and won't interfere with the goals of modern workplace laws.\n\n- **Strips away legal protections** that normally apply to registered unions — the BLF and any successor groups can't appear before Fair Work Australia, can't be covered by awards (legally binding workplace agreements), and Fair Work Australia generally can't intervene in disputes involving these groups.\n\n- **Creates a special barrier** for any new association formed from BLF members or doing similar work — they also can't register as official unions without jumping through extra hoops.\n\n- **Allows regulations to redirect workers** — if a registered union agrees, the government can make regulations allowing BLF-affected workers to join that registered union instead, even if the union's own rules wouldn't normally let them in.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n\n- The BLF itself and any splinter groups formed from its members\n- Construction workers who would have been eligible for BLF membership\n- Other construction unions that might absorb these workers\n- Employers in the building industry\n\n**Why it matters:**\n\nThis law was designed to keep a specific union — known for militant industrial action — permanently outside the official industrial relations system. It's unusual because it targets one particular organisation by name and creates special rules that don't apply to other unions. The law has been updated over time to reference modern workplace laws (the Fair Work Act), but its core purpose remains: controlling who can represent building workers and under what conditions."},"summary":{"complexity_score":7,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The original Act (Builders Labourers' Federation (Cancellation of Registration) Act 1986) was directed solely at the BLF itself. This consequential Act broadened the scope significantly by: (1) extending restrictions to future successor groups ('non-registered associations') — meaning the law reaches well beyond the original deregistered entity; (2) creating mechanisms to redistribute the BLF's former members into other unions; and (3) establishing an ongoing re-registration gatekeeping regime, converting what could have been a one-time cancellation into a potentially permanent exclusion from the industrial relations system."},"complexity_factors":["Multiple layers of cross-referencing between several Acts: Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1904, Fair Work Act 2009, Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009, and Workplace Relations Act 1996","Highly technical definition of 'non-registered association' involving cascading eligibility criteria across time periods and jurisdictions","Preservation of provisions from a repealed Act (Conciliation and Arbitration Act) which no longer exists as operative law","Differential treatment of State associations, with the NSW branch specifically excluded from a partial right retained by other branches","Interaction between federal law and multiple state industrial relations regimes","Time-layered definitions (e.g., 'award' defined differently depending on whether it predates or postdates the Fair Work Act)","Conditional re-registration pathway requiring satisfaction of a Full Bench with vague public interest criteria","Regulatory delegation allowing Governor-General to override union membership rules, with built-in override hierarchy"],"plain_english_summary":"This Act bars the deregistered Builders Labourers' Federation (and any successor “non‑registered association”) from acting as a union in the federal system: no standing before Fair Work Australia, no award coverage, and no tribunal dispute resolution. It also sets a very high re‑registration test and lets government rules shift former BLF members into other registered unions; some State branches get limited merger rights.\n\nIt matters because it effectively locks BLF successors out of formal industrial processes unless they meet stringent conditions."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":6,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The Act narrows federal industrial-law coverage for the Federation and related associations by removing the effect of awards on them and by preventing them from being parties to FWA proceedings (s 4(2)–(3)). It limits FWA’s jurisdiction over disputes arising from non‑registered associations (s 4(4)) and bars automatic access to registration under the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act unless FWA issues a proactive declaration about conduct and effect on Fair Work objectives (s 5). Exceptions preserve limited rights for certain State associations and for members who also belong to registered organisations (ss 4(3A), 4(5), 7)."},"complexity_factors":["Extensive cross‑references to multiple statutes (Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1904, Fair Work Act 2009, Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act, Workplace Relations Act) requiring statutory harmonisation (see definitions in s 3).","Layered definitions with conditional name‑changes (Federation, State association, non‑registered association) that affect who is covered (s 3).","Multiple exceptions and qualifications (e.g. s 4(3A) permits certain State associations to object to amalgamations; s 4(5) preserves FWA powers where members also belong to registered organisations).","High‑level delegation of decisions to FWA with a specified forum (Full Bench) and application procedures, creating procedural complexity (s 6 and s 5(a)).","Administrative hurdles for registration: a substantive FWA declaration required in addition to compliance with standard registration requirements (s 5).","Regulatory flexibility: power to make regulations altering membership eligibility and giving effect to the Act (ss 7–8), which creates future legislative interaction and potential rule conflicts."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act spells out the legal effects after cancelling the federal registration of the Builders Labourers’ Federation. It bars the Federation and related non‑registered associations from relying on federal awards or being parties to Fair Work Australia proceedings, restricts FWA’s powers over disputes involving those non‑registered associations, and prevents those associations from getting registered unless FWA certifies they will not obstruct arbitration and Fair Work Act objectives (ss 4–5). It also prescribes procedure (Full Bench, representation) and permits regulations on membership eligibility (ss 6–7)."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/builders-labourers-federation-cancellation-of-registration-consequential-provisions-act-1986","history":"/api/acts/builders-labourers-federation-cancellation-of-registration-consequential-provisions-act-1986/history","analysis":"/api/acts/builders-labourers-federation-cancellation-of-registration-consequential-provisions-act-1986/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/builders-labourers-federation-cancellation-of-registration-consequential-provisions-act-1986/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/builders-labourers-federation-cancellation-of-registration-consequential-provisions-act-1986/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/builders-labourers-federation-cancellation-of-registration-consequential-provisions-act-1986/documents"}}