16 January 2020

Registered Organisations Commissioner, Mark Bielecki, has welcomed the high voluntary compliance rate achieved this year by unions and employer associations lodging their Officer and Related Party (ORP) Disclosure Statements with the ROC on time.

Ninety-nine per cent (300 out of 303) of registered organisations and branches with a financial year ending on 30 June 2019 lodged their ORP statements by 31 December 2019, as required by the Fair Work Registered Organisations Act 2009 (RO Act). This is an increase on the initial compliance rate of 91 per cent for the same period the previous year, and an overall initial compliance rate of 92 per cent.

ORP statements provide important information about remuneration received by the top five-ranked officers of organisations and branches, including remuneration received by officers from a board or a related party of the organisation. Certain payments made by organisations and branches to related persons or bodies are also required to be disclosed.

Mr Bielecki said this result was especially pleasing as the legislative requirement for organisations and their branches to lodge ORP statements only came into effect in the 2018-19 financial year, and organisations are still becoming familiar with the statements.

“The ROC has and continues to undertake extensive engagement and consultation with registered organisations to assist them to comply with these requirements by providing educational materials and guidance about how the provisions are applicable to their circumstances,” Mr Bielecki said.

“Our experience is that the vast majority of organisations are interested in voluntary compliance and want to do the right thing by their members, and this result reinforces that,” he said.

“Our key objective is to drive behaviours in registered organisations that see them and their officers consistently focussed on acting in the best interests of their members, ensuring members’ money is spent in a way that is transparent, properly authorised and complies with their obligations under the RO Act.”

“Providing compliance education assistance and advice to registered organisations, supported by practical resources, is a priority for the ROC, and high voluntary compliance rates are a testament to the success of this work,” Mr Bielecki said.

Organisations and branches with a financial year ending 30 September 2019 are next due to lodge their disclosure statements by the end of March this year.

Media contact: media@roc.gov.au or 03 9603 0767