Australia’s diverse trucking associations joined forces for a roundtable on sham contracting in the transport industry.
The industry associations’ representatives converged on the Federal Parliament House on 5 November, at a roundtable convened by Labor Senator Glenn Sterle, to call for unified action to prevent sham practices.
The participants included representatives from the TWU, various ministers and assistant ministers, and government officials, including Commissioner of Taxation, Rob Heferen.
“We have drivers being exploited by rogue employers and crooked accountants being very creative, bending the laws and demanding Australian business numbers or ACNs for employees and paying them minimum rates with absolutely no protections,” Senator Sterle subsequently told Parliament.
The roundtable participants called on the Department of Home Affairs, the Fair Work Ombudsman and the ATO to develop and carry out a data-driven strategy to stop sham contracting.
ATA CEO, Mathew Munro, said the ATA and its members were taking the issue seriously.
“Sham contracting is leading to unsustainable freight rates and record levels of insolvencies,” Munro said.
“Good businesses are leaving the industry, and there is a growing disregard for the tax law.”
NatRoad CEO, Warren Clark, said the systemic manipulation was still happening and not being detected by government agencies.
“By allowing widespread illegal activity to flourish unchecked, we’ve created a system where law breakers prosper while legitimate businesses are punished for doing the right thing,” said Clark.
Queensland Trucking Association CEO, Gary Mahon, said that trucking businesses also had a role to play in curbing the widespread practices.
“Fleets can help eradicate sham contracting by undertaking thorough due diligence with the subcontractors they engage and by questioning how those subcontractors are engaging their workers,” he said.
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