54Failure of negotiations

54 Failure of negotiations (1) If there is a failure of negotiations (including negotiations concerning the variation of an agreement), any person who is or would be a party to the negotiations may ask the regulator to appoint an inspector for the purposes of this section. (2) An inspector appointed under subsection (1) may decide: (a) the matters referred to in section 52(3), or any of those matters which is the subject of the proposed variation (as the case requires); or Work Health and Safety (National Uniform Legislation) Act 2011 39 (b) that work groups should not be determined or that the agreement should not be varied (as the case requires). (3) For the purposes of this section, there is a failure of negotiations if: (a) the person conducting the business or undertaking has not taken all reasonable steps to commence negotiations with the workers and negotiations have not commenced within 14 days after: (i) a request is made under section 50; or (ii) a party to the agreement requests the variation of the agreement; or (b) agreement cannot be reached on a matter relating to the determination of a work group (or the variation of an agreement concerning a work group) within a reasonable time after negotiations commence. (4) A decision under this section is taken to be an agreement under section 52.