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Commonwealth act
This Act has been repealed and is no longer in force. It is retained for historical reference.
What this law does, mechanically
Creates a new statutory body called the Australian Stevedoring Industry Authority ("the Authority") (section 10). The Authority replaces the earlier Australian Stevedoring Industry Board and takes over its property, liabilities and registers (see transitional provisions in section 6 and the establishment in section 10).
Gives the Authority a wide set of administrative functions over loading/unloading and related work ("stevedoring operations"). Key functions include regulating how work is performed, running employment bureaux, arranging how waterside workers are allotted to jobs, training, providing amenities, and carrying out investigations to improve safety and efficiency (section 17).
Requires the Authority to set a quota (a maximum number) of waterside workers for each port and to keep registers of employers and registered waterside workers at each port (sections 25–26). The quota-setting process must involve consultation and consideration of ship movements and expected cargo (section 26).
Controls who may be employed on the waterfront. Generally, a person must be registered as a waterside worker at the port to be engaged for stevedoring work (section 39). The Authority may allow temporary registrations above quota or permit unregistered workers in narrowly defined emergency or unusually heavy-demand circumstances (sections 30 and 40). Applications for registration normally must be submitted through the Union for the port (section 31).
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Direct links to the current provisions in Stevedoring Industry Act 1956.
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View on official registerSourced from the Federal Register of Legislation (legislation.gov.au), CC BY 4.0.
Gives the Authority powers to cancel or suspend registrations of employers and waterside workers for specified reasons (sections 35–36). A suspended registration generally means the person is not considered registered while the suspension lasts (section 38). A waterside worker can appeal a cancellation or suspension to the Commonwealth Industrial Court within a time limit (section 37).
Empowers the Authority to make written orders and to give directions (sections 18–21). Orders have the force of law (section 20). An Authority order may be effective even if it conflicts with an award of the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission, subject to mandatory consultation with the Commission’s presidential member (section 19). Orders and directions of the Authority cannot be challenged in court (section 22).
Provides enforcement tools: inspectors may enter wharves and ships and require information; there are monetary penalties for contraventions by employers, waterside workers and others (sections 23, 20, 21, 33, 44). The Authority may require persons to provide information and attendance; answers to questions cannot be used against the respondent except for false-answer prosecutions (section 54).
Funds and governance: the Authority is funded from Consolidated Revenue by amounts equivalent to proceeds from the Stevedoring Industry Charge (section 46); it may borrow short-term with Treasurer’s guarantee and is subject to audit and Ministerial oversight (sections 47, 49–51, 56). It must publish monthly reports on stoppages and delays and annual reports with audited financial statements (sections 57–58).
Who is affected
Waterside workers: registration controls who may work at each port, and registrations can be suspended or cancelled for misconduct, incompetence, failing to accept work, or other specified reasons (sections 29, 36). Appeals go to the Industrial Court (section 37).
Employers who engage in stevedoring: must register to engage waterside workers at registered ports and meet duties to ensure safe and efficient operations (sections 28, 33, 41). Employers may be fined and can have registration suspended or cancelled by Court order on application of the Authority (sections 34–35).
Unions: the Act defines the Union for each port and gives unions a formal role in consultation, in submitting registration applications, and in membership and rule requirements for temporarily registered workers (sections 7, 9, 18(2), 31, 43).
The Commonwealth and the Minister: the Minister can direct the Authority to hold meetings, request information, and the Treasurer has financial oversight powers (sections 13(2), 56, 47, 49).
Why it matters (official purposes and practical trade-offs)
Officially, the Act aims to secure the expeditious, safe and efficient performance of stevedoring operations and to support decasualisation (making waterfront labour less casual) and industrial peace at each port (section 8; section 25 sets out purposes for quotas). Those aims are implemented by centralising rostering and allocation through the Authority, controlling numbers of registered workers by port quotas, and giving the Authority coercive instruments (orders, directions, registration control) to manage work practices (sections 17, 18, 25, 31).
Who pays: the Authority is funded from Consolidated Revenue equivalent to the Stevedoring Industry Charge (section 46). Employers and waterside workers bear direct compliance costs: registration processes, potential fines for breaches (e.g. sections 20, 33, 44), and obligations to cooperate with inspectors and the Authority (sections 23, 54). Employers may incur capital and operational costs where the Authority requires amenities or where the Authority promotes equipment and methods (section 17(j),(l),(o)).
Incentives created: quotas limit the number of registered workers at a port to a level the Authority considers necessary for efficient operations and to keep average earnings attractive (section 25(a)). That creates an incentive for registered workers to preserve or increase their registration status and for unions to influence who is admitted (section 31). Employers are incentivised to comply with orders and directions or risk fines or loss of registration (sections 18, 33, 35).
Compliance burden and discretion: the Authority has broad discretion to set quotas, register or refuse applicants, create temporary registers above quota, suspend or cancel registrations, issue binding orders that override Commission awards (subject to consultation), and make non-justiciable decisions in many respects (sections 18–22, 25, 29–36). Compliance requires maintaining records, responding to information requests, and attending hearings (sections 15, 54). Inspectors have powers of entry and inquiry (section 23).
Trade-offs and risks: the Act centralises many allocation and regulatory choices in the Authority (sections 10, 14, 17, 18). That concentrates decision-making authority and discretion (e.g. quotas, temporary registration declarations in section 30, emergency direction powers in section 21). Orders of the Authority have legal effect and are, in many respects, insulated from judicial challenge (sections 20, 22), although some individual decisions (like worker suspensions) can be appealed (section 37). These mechanisms may reduce litigation over operational matters but increase administrative discretion and potential implementation risk in how quotas, registrations and orders are applied. The Act provides audit and reporting requirements (sections 50–51, 57–58) and requires consultation before particular actions (sections 18(2), 26(1)) as checks on that discretion.
Substitution effects and redistribution of choice: temporary registers and emergency provisions permit unregistered labour to be used in high-demand periods (section 40). That creates a substitution pathway between registered and unregistered labour, and the Act provides limited compensation rules (section 40(12)) when temporary measures affect registered workers’ earnings. The requirement that most registration applications be submitted through the Union (section 31) gives the Union an operational gatekeeping role in who can access registered employment at a port.
Concrete, source-cited notes on key mechanisms
Authority creation and continuity: Authority established (section 10); prior Board’s property, registers and liabilities vest in Authority (section 6(9)-(11)).
Quotas and registers: Authority must determine port quotas and maintain registers (sections 25–26). Quotas are revisited at least annually and after requests (section 26(3)).
Registration gatekeeping: waterside registration requires meeting fitness/competence tests and Union membership/application (section 29); most applications must be submitted via the Union (section 31).
Orders, inconsistency and finality: Authority makes orders with force of law (section 20); an Authority order can prevail over a Commission award where inconsistent, after consultation with the Commission’s presidential member (section 19); orders and directions are declared not to be subject to judicial challenge (section 22).
Enforcement and remedies: inspectors with entry and inquiry powers (section 23); penalties for non-compliance spelled out across the Act (e.g. sections 20, 21, 33, 44, 54); Court jurisdiction provided for prosecutions and employer cancellations (sections 34–35) and appeal rights for workers (section 37).
Finance, audit and Ministerial oversight: funding from Consolidated Revenue tied to the Stevedoring Industry Charge (section 46); borrowing with Treasurer’s approval/guarantee (section 47); mandatory audit by Auditor-General and reporting to Parliament (sections 51, 58); Minister may require information and direct meetings (sections 56, 13(2)).
Taken together, the Act centralises allocation of waterfront labour and many operational decisions in an administratively powerful Authority, implements port-by-port quotas and a registration system that limits who may be employed, provides statutory tools to enforce orders and manage emergencies, and establishes financial and reporting controls on the Authority (see especially sections 10, 17, 18, 19, 22, 25, 29–31, 40, 46–51).