Review of the Construction Industry Portable Paid Long Service Leave Act 1985

The Act was introduced in the mid 1980's to allow construction workers to carry long service leave benefits from employer to employer.

In 2023, KPMG was engaged to deliver an independent review of the Construction Industry Portable Paid Long Service Leave Act 1985 (Act). The purpose of the Review was to assess whether the Act continues to meet the needs of the contemporary construction industry and its workers.

A comprehensive report was completed by KPMG in November 2023 (2023 Review Report). The 2023 Review Report was publicly released by the Minister for Industrial Relations in June 2024 and can be viewed at 2023 Review Report.

The Review made 14 findings and recommendations for legislative reform covering core themes of coverage and eligibility under the Act, treatment of benefits and entitlements, as well as compliance, regulatory and administrative matters. Of these, KPMG recommended that further consultation occur with respect to six specific findings to ensure the final policy positions were best crafted to address the needs of the WA construction sector.  These findings were:

Scheme Coverage

• Clarify the capture of specific cohorts of construction workers (Review Finding 1);
• Revise current definitions used in the Act (Review Finding 2)
• The use of alternatives to prescribed industrial agreement (Review Finding 3)

Treatment of Scheme Participants

• Revisions to core terms to reduce ambiguity (Review Finding 4)
• Adoption of an ‘hours worked’ approach to accruals (Review Finding 5)
• Treatment of employees with long-term service with a single employer (Review Finding 6).

In July 2024, KPMG was engaged to conduct further stakeholder consultation to assist in seeking further construction industry insights on the policy matters identified in the 2023 Review Report. A Discussion Paper was drafted and provided to stakeholders with questions and relevant background information for consideration available at 2024 Discussion Paper. 

The consultation process took place in July and August 2024 through stakeholder consultation forums, and a publicly available online survey and written submission portal.

KPMG prepared a Further Report on additional stakeholder consultation which was delivered in September 2024 (2024 Further Report) with the Minister for Industrial Relations approving the release of this report at 2024 Further Report.

Conclusion

The Review is a comprehensive look at the operation of the legislation that governs portable long service leave for construction workers in WA. The Review found the Act has been historically effective in providing benefits for the construction workforce, however, developments in WA’s industrial relations environment means the Act requires amendment to reflect the modern construction workforce.

The Review addresses the terms of reference established by the Government and makes 14 major findings and recommendations for targeted legislative reform covering core themes of coverage and eligibility under the Act, treatment of benefits and entitlements, as well as compliance, regulatory and administrative matters.

The Review does not recommend structural reform to fundamentally alter the architecture of the existing legislative framework, however, does recommend some legislative amendments to ensure the Act remains fit-for-purpose.

The Review will guide the development of any future legislative reform measures to amend the Act to ensure it remains relevant and fit-for-purpose for the WA construction industry.