{"id":"F2016L00547","name":"Fair Entitlements Guarantee (Extended operation of the Act in relation to Queensland Nickel Pty Ltd in Administration) Declaration 01/2016","slug":"fair-entitlements-guarantee-extended-operation-of-the-act-in-relation-to-queensland-nickel-pty-ltd-i","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":129106,"registerId":"commonwealth-F2016L00547-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-03","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Fair Entitlements Guarantee (Extended operation of the Act in relation to Queensland Nickel Pty Ltd in Administration) Declaration 01/2016","content":"Fair Entitlements Guarantee (Extended operation of the Act in relation to Queensland Nickel Pty Ltd in Administration) Declaration 01/2016\n\nFair Entitlements Guarantee Act 2012, section 49\n\nI, MICHAELIA CASH, Minister for Employment, make this declaration under section 49 of the Fair Entitlements Guarantee Act 2012.\n\nDated on the 19 day of April 2016.\n\nMichaelia Cash\n\nMinister for Employment\n\n1. Name of declaration\n\nThis declaration is the Fair Entitlements Guarantee (Extended operation of the Act in relation to Queensland Nickel Pty Ltd in Administration) Declaration 01/2016.\n\n2. Commencement\n\nThis declaration commences on 15 April 2016.\n\n3. Declaration\n\nThe Fair Entitlements Guarantee Act 2012 applies in relation to persons who were employed, but are no longer employed, by Queensland Nickel Pty Ltd which is an entity in administration under the Corporations Act 2001.","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This is a targeted, time-limited instrument made under specific emergency powers in section 49 of the FEG Act. It does exactly what the parent Act intended — allowing ministerial declarations to extend FEG coverage to specific entities in administration. The scope is precisely limited to Queensland Nickel and matches the original legislative intent for such declarations."},"complexity_factors":["Very short document — only 3 operative sections","No defined terms section (relies entirely on definitions in the parent Fair Entitlements Guarantee Act 2012)","Single, straightforward declaration with no conditional logic or exceptions","No cross-references beyond the enabling section (section 49 of the FEG Act)","Purpose-built for one specific company and one specific time period"],"plain_english_summary":"This is a special declaration that extends a government safety net to workers who lost their jobs when Queensland Nickel went bust in 2016.\n\n**What it does:**\nNormally, the **Fair Entitlements Guarantee** (FEG) is a scheme where the government pays out workers' unpaid wages, annual leave, and redundancy pay when their employer goes into liquidation (a formal process where a company is wound up because it can't pay its debts). However, FEG usually doesn't cover companies in **administration** (a temporary state where an outside administrator tries to save the company or wind it up fairly).\n\nThis declaration makes an exception for **Queensland Nickel Pty Ltd** — the company owned by Clive Palmer that collapsed in 2016. It allows former employees to access FEG payments even though the company was in administration rather than full liquidation.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- Workers who were employed by Queensland Nickel but lost their jobs\n- These workers could claim unpaid entitlements through the FEG scheme earlier than they otherwise would have been able to\n\n**Why it matters:**\nWithout this declaration, hundreds of workers would have had to wait months or potentially years for the administration process to finish before they could claim their owed pay. This allowed them to get their money faster during a difficult time."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"This declaration extends the operation of the Fair Entitlements Guarantee Act 2012 to a specific cohort: persons who were employed, but are no longer employed, by Queensland Nickel Pty Ltd when that company is an entity in administration under the Corporations Act 2001 (clause 3). The extension is company-specific and is made effective retrospectively to 15 April 2016 (clause 2)."},"complexity_factors":["Single-purpose instrument: the declaration has one operative clause (clause 3) that applies the Act to a defined cohort.","Legal references: requires knowledge of s49 of the Fair Entitlements Guarantee Act 2012 and the concept of an entity in administration under the Corporations Act 2001 to understand the trigger.","Retrospective commencement: the instrument commences before its signature date (clause 2 and signature), which raises a procedural/legal detail users must note.","Dependence on external Act: substantive effects (payments, eligibility, procedures) depend on provisions in the Fair Entitlements Guarantee Act 2012, not on this instrument itself.","Company-specific scope: the instrument names a single corporate entity, concentrating scope and requiring identification of the cohort by employer status."],"plain_english_summary":"A ministerial declaration under section 49 of the Fair Entitlements Guarantee Act 2012 makes that Act apply, from 15 April 2016, to people who were employed by Queensland Nickel Pty Ltd but are no longer employed because the company is in administration. It therefore extends FEGA coverage to that specific cohort; any payments or procedures are governed by the Act itself."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/fair-entitlements-guarantee-extended-operation-of-the-act-in-relation-to-queensland-nickel-pty-ltd-i","history":"/api/acts/fair-entitlements-guarantee-extended-operation-of-the-act-in-relation-to-queensland-nickel-pty-ltd-i/history","analysis":"/api/acts/fair-entitlements-guarantee-extended-operation-of-the-act-in-relation-to-queensland-nickel-pty-ltd-i/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/fair-entitlements-guarantee-extended-operation-of-the-act-in-relation-to-queensland-nickel-pty-ltd-i/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/fair-entitlements-guarantee-extended-operation-of-the-act-in-relation-to-queensland-nickel-pty-ltd-i/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/fair-entitlements-guarantee-extended-operation-of-the-act-in-relation-to-queensland-nickel-pty-ltd-i/documents"}}