Any changes to industrial relations laws shouldn’t impact Aussie tradies’ ability to work as independent contractors, the Housing Industry of Australia (HIA) has said.
This statement comes as the Federal Government convenes with industry representatives to discuss a number of issues affecting IR.
“Independent contracting arrangements are a long-standing feature of the residential building industry,” HIA Deputy Managing Director of Policy and Industry Jocelyn Martin said.
“The industry relies on these work arrangement as a way of productively managing the needs of building businesses, especially smaller businesses.”
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More than 80 per cent of work completed in residential building is done by independent contractors according to the HIA.
Martin said it provided a flexible, workable and efficient model for engaging workers and managing the peaks and troughs of the home building cycle.
“Australians rely on independent contractors to build the houses that feed the desperate demand for affordable housing,” she added.
“Federal and state governments have long held different views on what constitutes an independent contractor creating challenges for the industry and threaten the ability for a trades person to remain their own boss.
“However, any moves that would force a legitimate independent contractor to be classified as an employee would be a backward step.”