A union membership clause may be inserted in an award only if not less than 50 percent of the valid votes recorded in a ballot of all workers bound or to be bound by the award are in favour of the insertion of the union membership clause in the award.

A union membership clause may be inserted in an agreement only if—

Every ballot conducted for the purposes of subsection (1)(b) of this section shall be initiated and conducted by the union party.

The parties to any proceedings involving a dispute of interest may not agree to the insertion of a union membership clause in an agreement if a union membership ballot has been conducted in relation to that agreement or either of the two awards or agreements which immediately preceded that agreement.

No award or agreement shall contain a provision (other than a union membership clause inserted in accordance with the provisions of this Act) requiring any worker engaged or employed by an employer bound by the award or agreement to join any union.

A union shall not conduct a union membership ballot in relation to an award if such a ballot has been conducted in relation to that award or either of the two awards or agreements which immediately preceded that award.

A union shall not conduct a union membership ballot in relation to an agreement if such a ballot has been conducted in relation to that agreement or either of the two awards or agreements which immediately preceded that agreement.

A union shall not conduct a union membership ballot in relation to a composite award or composite agreement if such a ballot has been conducted in relation to—

Where a ballot is to be held to determine whether a union membership clause is to be inserted in an award or agreement—

Where a ballot is required to determine whether a union membership clause is to be inserted in a composite award or composite agreement or an award or agreement to which more than one union or an association of unions is a party—

The rules of every union shall include, or, in the case of the rules of a union that is registered at the commencement of this section, shall be deemed to include, the rules relating to union membership ballots set out in the Fourth Schedule to this Act (which shall not be amended by the union and which shall prevail over any other provision of the rules).

Where a union or more than one union, as the case may be, intends to conduct a union membership ballot pursuant to its rules, the committee of management of the union or the joint committee—

Every union membership ballot conducted pursuant to the rules of any union shall be conducted by the union, or, where there is more than one union, jointly by the unions, under the supervision of the Registrar of Unions, or of some person, being an employee of the Department of Labour, designated by the Registrar to supervise that ballot.

The ballot paper shall be in the prescribed form.

The Returning Officer shall, at the conclusion of the special meeting or, where there is a series of special meetings, at the conclusion of that series, or at the conclusion of a postal ballot, prepare and make available to the Registrar and to any voter or other interested person, a record showing—

The expenses incurred by the Registrar or designated person in connection with the conduct of every such ballot shall be paid out of money to be appropriated by Parliament for the purpose.

Notwithstanding anything in the rules of the union or unions, the Registrar or designated person may take such action and give such directions as the Registrar or designated person considers necessary to prevent the occurrence of any irregularity in or in connection with the ballot.

In this section the term ‘designated person’ means any person designated under subsection (1) of this section to supervise the ballot on behalf of the Registrar.

Where a ballot is required to determine whether a union membership clause is to be inserted in an award or agreement, that ballot, subject to subsection (2) of this section,—

Where the Registrar is satisfied that there is good reason why the ballot is unable to be conducted within the time limit prescribed under subsection (1) of this section, the Registrar may extend the time within which the ballot is required to be conducted.

The Commission may register the award or agreement pending the outcome of a union membership ballot in relation to the award or agreement.

Where the Commission registers an award or agreement pending the outcome of a ballot, the Commission shall insert a provision relating to union membership in the award or agreement which is the same as the provision relating to union membership contained in the award or agreement which immediately preceded that award or agreement, and that provision shall have effect pending the implementation, in accordance with section 68 of this Act, of the result of the ballot.

Where a composite award or composite agreement that has not been preceded by another composite award or composite agreement is registered by the Commission pending the outcome of a ballot, the provisions relating to union membership which were contained in the award or agreement by which workers covered by the composite award or composite agreement were bound shall, whether the previous award or agreement is replaced either wholly or partially by the composite award or composite agreement, continue to have effect and to bind those workers until the implementation, in accordance with section 68 of this Act, of the result of the ballot.

The Registrar shall issue a certificate in the prescribed form showing the result of the ballot, and shall supply one copy of the certificate to the Commission and another to the union.

Every such certificate shall be conclusive evidence of the result of the ballot.

Where, as the result of any ballot conducted pursuant to the rules of a union and in accordance with this Act, a union membership clause is required to be inserted in any award or agreement, the Commission shall, where necessary, amend the award or agreement by inserting in it a union membership clause and any provision relating to union membership inserted in the award or agreement pursuant to section 66b(2) of this Act shall cease to have effect.

Where, as the result of any ballot in relation to an award or agreement, a union membership clause cannot be inserted in the award or agreement, or where a ballot is not conducted within the time prescribed by section 66a of this Act, the Commission shall, where necessary, amend the award or agreement by deleting any union membership clause inserted by the Commission pursuant to section 66b(2) of this Act.

Where a union membership clause is inserted in an agreement by agreement between the parties, that clause shall remain in force for the same period as the agreement.

Where a union membership clause is inserted in an award or agreement as a result of a ballot conducted in accordance with the rules set out in the Fourth Schedule to this Act, that clause shall, as a result of that ballot, also be inserted in—

This section is subject to section 106 of this Act relating to change of union coverage.

Subject to subsection (2) of this section, where a composite award or composite agreement replaces, either wholly or partially, awards or agreements each of which contains a union membership clause inserted as a result of a ballot, a union membership clause shall be inserted in that composite award or composite agreement.

Where any of the awards or agreements replaced by the composite award or composite agreement contained a union membership clause that was inserted pursuant to section 69(2)(b) of this Act (whether before or after the commencement of this section), that clause shall not be automatically inserted in that composite award or composite agreement.

Where a composite award or composite agreement replaces, either wholly or partially, any award or agreement that does not contain a union membership clause, a union membership clause shall not be inserted in that composite award or composite agreement except as the result of a ballot held in accordance with this Act.

Where a union membership clause is inserted in a composite award or composite agreement pursuant to subsection (1) of this section, the following provisions shall apply in determining whether such a clause shall be inserted in subsequent composite awards or composite agreements:

This section is subject to section 106 of this Act relating to change of union coverage.”

When a dispute of interest has been referred to the Commission under section 147(2) or section 147(4)(d) of this Act or terms of settlement are received by the Commission under section 146(2) of this Act, the Commission shall examine the documents so referred to it or received by it.

The purpose of the examination shall be to enable the Commission to determine—

This section shall apply whether the documents are received before or after the commencement of this Act.

Subject to subsection (2) of this section, the Commission shall refuse to register an award if it is satisfied that the parties or any of them do not have the right to represent the employers or workers or some of the employers or workers whom the award would purport to cover if the award were made or the terms of settlement were registered as an award.

Where, in relation to a proposed award, the only areas of representation that are not supported by the facts are, in the opinion of the Commission, insignificant when compared to the total number of employers or workers, as the case may be, represented by the party concerned and properly covered by the proposed award, the party concerned shall, for the purposes of subsection (1) of this section, but for no other purpose, be regarded as having the right to represent all employers or all workers, as the case may be, whom the proposed award purports to cover.

Subject to subsection (2) of this section, the Commission shall refuse to register an award if it is satisfied that the proposed award’s coverage clause—

Where, in relation to a proposed award, the only areas of overlapping coverage with a current award or agreement or of likely overlapping coverage with a proposed agreement of the kind described in subsection (1)(b) of this section are, in the opinion of the Commission, insignificant when compared to the total proper coverage of the proposed award, the proposed award’s coverage clause shall, for the purposes of subsection (1) of this section, but for no other purpose, be regarded as not overlapping with that of the current award or agreement or as not likely to overlap with that of the proposed agreement.

The Commission shall, in addition to considering—

consider, before registering an award, whether any other matter contained in the proposed award is contrary to an enactment.

Where the Commission considers that section 150a(2) or section 150b(2) of this Act applies in respect of a proposed award, that proposed award shall be deemed, for the purposes of sections 150d and 150e of this Act, to contain matter that is contrary to an enactment.

Where the Commission is satisfied that there are grounds under section 150a or section 150b of this Act for refusing to register an award or for considering that any matter contained in an award is contrary to an enactment, the Commission shall—

If at the end of the period allowed by the Commission under subsection (1) of this section any barrier to registration remains, the Commission shall refuse to register the award.

Notwithstanding anything in subsection (2) of this section, where any barrier to the registration of an award is overcome after the end of the period allowed by the Commission under subsection (1) of this section, the parties to that award may, at any time during the currency of the award, resubmit it for registration.

If at the end of the period allowed by the Commission under subsection (1) of this section, there is no barrier to registration in terms of section 150a or section 150b of this Act but there remains any matter that the Commission considers is contrary to an enactment, the Commission—

Where a memorandum is appended to an award pursuant to section 150d(4)(b) of this Act and a proposed award subsequent to that award is submitted for registration, the Commission shall, before proceeding to consider the proposed award under sections 150 to 150d of this Act, determine whether any of the matters identified by the Commission in that memorandum are still contrary to an enactment.

If, after giving the parties an opportunity to make submissions to it, the Commission still considers that any matter contained in the proposed subsequent award remains contrary to an enactment, the Commission shall not register the award.

Where the Commission considers that the matters identified in its memorandum have been satisfactorily dealt with by the parties, it shall proceed to consider the proposed award under sections 150 to 150d of this Act and, if it subsequently registers an award, shall append a memorandum to that award explaining how the parties resolved those matters referred to in the previous memorandum appended pursuant to section 150d(4)(b) of this Act.

For the purposes of sections 150 to 150e of this Act, the Commission shall consist only of 3 Commissioners.

Nothing in sections 150 to 150f of this Act affects the application of section 193(2) of this Act to any award registered by the Commission.”

When a voluntary settlement of a dispute of interest has been received by the Commission under section 164(5) of this Act, the Commission shall examine the terms of settlement received by it.

The purpose of the examination shall be to enable the Commission to determine—

This section shall apply whether the terms of settlement are received before or after the commencement of this Act.

For the purposes of this section and sections 164b to 164g of this Act, the Commission shall consist of only 3 Commissioners.

Subject to subsection (2) of this section, the Commission shall refuse to register an agreement if it is satisfied that the parties or any of them do not have the right to represent the employers or workers or some of the employers or workers whom the agreement would purport to cover if the voluntary settlement of the dispute of interest were registered by the Commission as an agreement.

Where, in relation to a proposed agreement, the only areas of representation that are not supported by the facts are, in the opinion of the Commission, insignificant when compared to the total number of employers or workers represented by the party concerned and properly covered by the proposed agreement, the party concerned shall, for the purposes of subsection (1) of this section, but for no other purpose, be regarded as having the right to represent all the relevant employers or all the relevant workers, as the case may require.

Subject to subsection (2) of this section, the Commission shall refuse to register an agreement if it is satisfied that the proposed agreement’s coverage clause overlaps with that of a current award or agreement—

Where, in relation to a proposed agreement, the only areas of overlapping coverage with a current award or agreement are, in the opinion of the Commission, insignificant when compared to the total proper coverage of the proposed agreement, the proposed agreement’s coverage shall, for the purpose of subsection (1) of this section, but for no other purpose, be regarded as not overlapping with that of the current award or agreement.

The Commission shall refuse to register an agreement if it is satisfied that an employer party to the agreement has obtained an exemption from the current award under section 154 of this Act in respect of the workers the agreement proposes to cover or some of those workers.

The Commission shall, in addition to considering—

consider, before registering an agreement, whether any other matter contained in the proposed agreement is contrary to an enactment.

Where the Commission considers that section 164b(2) or section 164c(2) of this Act applies in respect of the proposed agreement, that proposed agreement shall be deemed, for the purposes of sections 164f and 164g of this Act, to contain matter that is contrary to an enactment.

Where the Commission is satisfied that there are grounds under section 164b or section 164c or section 164d of this Act for refusing to register an agreement or that, under section 164e of this Act, there are grounds for considering that any matter contained in an agreement is contrary to an enactment, the Commission shall—

If at the end of the period allowed by the Commission under subsection (1) of this section any barrier to registration remains, the Commission shall refuse to register the agreement.

Notwithstanding anything in subsection (2) of this section, where any barrier to the registration of an agreement is overcome after the end of the period allowed by the Commission under subsection (1) of this section, the parties to that agreement may, at any time during the currency of the agreement, resubmit it for registration.

If at the end of the period allowed by the Commission under subsection (1) of this section, there is no barrier to registration in terms of section 164b or section 164c or section 164d of this Act but there remains any matter that the Commission considers is contrary to an enactment, the Commission—

Where a memorandum is appended to an agreement pursuant to section 164f(4)(b) of this Act and a proposed agreement subsequent to that agreement is submitted for registration, the Commission shall, before proceeding to consider the proposed agreement under sections 164a to 164e of this Act, determine whether any of the matters identified by the Commission in that memorandum are still contrary to an enactment.

If, after giving the parties an opportunity to make submissions to it, the Commission still considers that any matter contained in the proposed subsequent agreement remains contrary to an enactment, the Commission shall not register the agreement.

Where the Commission considers that the matters identified in its memorandum have been satisfactorily dealt with by the parties, it shall proceed to consider the proposed agreement under sections 164a to 164e of this Act and, if it subsequently registers an agreement, shall append a memorandum to that agreement explaining how the parties resolved those matters referred to in the previous memorandum appended pursuant to section 164f(4)(b) of this Act.

A copy of every agreement registered under sections 164 to 164g of this Act shall be deposited in the office of the Commission and a copy shall be forwarded by the Commission to each of the central organisations, to the representatives of the parties, and to the Secretary of Labour.

Nothing in sections 164a to 164h of this Act affects the application of section 193(2) of this Act to any agreement registered by the Commission.”

When a voluntary settlement of a dispute of interest has been received by the Commission under section 166(5) of this Act, the Commission shall examine the terms of the settlement.

The purpose of the examination shall be to enable the Commission to determine—

This section shall apply whether the terms of settlement are received before or after the commencement of this Act.

For the purposes of this section and sections 166b to 166e of this Act, the Commission shall consist only of 3 Commissioners.

Subject to subsection (2) of this section, the Commission shall refuse to register a composite agreement if it is satisfied that the parties or any of them do not have the right to represent the employers or workers or some of the employers or workers whom the composite agreement would purport to cover if the voluntary settlement of the dispute of interest were registered by the Commission as a composite agreement.

Where, in relation to a proposed composite agreement, the only areas of representation that are not supported by the facts are, in the opinion of the Commission, insignificant when compared to the total number of employers or workers, as the case may be, represented by the party concerned and properly covered by the proposed agreement, the party concerned shall, for the purposes of subsection (1) of this section, but for no other purpose, be regarded as having the right to represent all the relevant employers or all the relevant workers, as the case may require.

The Commission shall, in addition to considering the question of coverage under section 166b of this Act, consider, before registering a composite agreement, whether any other matter contained in the proposed composite agreement is contrary to an enactment.

Where the Commission considers that section 166b(2) of this Act applies in respect of the proposed composite agreement, that proposed composite agreement shall be deemed, for the purposes of sections 166d and 166e of this Act, to contain matter that is contrary to an enactment.

Where the Commission is satisfied that there are grounds under section 166b of this Act for refusing to register a composite agreement or that, under section 166c of this Act, there are grounds for considering that any matter contained in a composite agreement is contrary to an enactment, the Commission shall—

If at the end of the period allowed by the Commission under subsection (1) of this section any barrier to registration remains, the Commission shall refuse to register the composite agreement.

Notwithstanding anything in subsection (2) of this section, where any barrier to the registration of a composite agreement is overcome after the end of the period allowed by the Commission under subsection (1) of this section, the parties to that composite agreement may, at any time during the currency of the agreement, resubmit it for registration.

If at the end of the period allowed by the Commission under subsection (1) of this section, there is no barrier to registration in terms of section 166b of this Act but there remains any matter that the Commission considers is contrary to an enactment, the Commission—

Where a memorandum is appended to a composite agreement pursuant to section 166d(4)(b) of this Act and a proposed composite agreement subsequent to that composite agreement is submitted for registration, the Commission shall, before embarking on the registration process set out in sections 166a to 166d of this Act, determine whether any of the matters identified by the Commission in that memorandum are still contrary to an enactment.

If, after giving the parties an opportunity to make submissions to it, the Commission still considers that any matter contained in the proposed subsequent composite agreement remains contrary to an enactment, the Commission shall not register the composite agreement.

Where the Commission considers that the matters identified in its memorandum have been satisfactorily dealt with by the parties, it shall proceed to consider the proposed agreement under sections 166a to 166d of this Act and, if it subsequently registers a composite agreement, shall append a memorandum to that composite agreement explaining now the parties resolved those matters referred to in the previous memorandum appended pursuant to section 166d(4)(b) of this Act.

Nothing in sections 166a to 166e of this Act affects the application of section 193(2) of this Act to any composite agreement registered by the Commission.”

Subject to subsection (2) of this section, the Commission shall arrange for the printing and publication of registered awards.

The Commission shall not be required under this section to print or publish any amendment to an award relating to the insertion or deletion of a union membership clause pursuant to section 68 of this Act.”