Unions may be forced to dramatically increase insurance policies covering their officials in the wake of the Turnbull government's latest legislation that increases their liability and blows out penalties for legal breaches.
Changes to the Registered Organisations Act passed the Senate after a marathon sitting in the early hours of Tuesday morning, after having twice been rejected by the last Parliament.
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The new legislation introduces a Coalition-appointed Registered Organisations Commission that will broadly align the regulation of unions and employer groups with laws governing corporations and company directors.
Civil penalties under the new regulator will now range from $18,000 to $216,000 for individuals and as much as $1 million for a body corporate
Australian Council of Trade Unions secretary Dave Oliver said union leaders across the nation would need to rethink their existing insurance policies as a result.
"Each union will have to evaluate their current level of insurance to determine whether it will accommodate the increased level of liability introduced by the higher penalties put in place by the Registered Organisations legislation," Mr Oliver said.
New regulator
Among the biggest changes under the new legislation will be the establishment of the new regulator, which will oversee unions and employer groups instead of the Fair Work Commission, and stricter rules surrounding registered organisations' financial disclosure obligations.
Mr Oliver said the ACTU would review the training and advice it gives to its affiliates in light of the changes he said were "clearly designed to over-regulate unions" and impose the risk of greater penalties on those who were trying to stand up for working people.
![ACTU secretary Dave Oliver.](/web/20161125091651im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/w/u/f/2/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gsvf9n.png/1479942015945.jpg)
"The ACTU has provided union leadership training for many years and an important element of that training has covered governance standards and the regulatory environment. Our current program is accredited by the Fair Work Commission," he said.
"We will obviously be reviewing that program to ensure that it addresses the new requirements and remains accredited under the new scheme."
![Employment Minister Senator Michaelia Cash.](/web/20161125091651im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/u/s/8/h/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gsvf9n.png/1480018515842.jpg)
Employment Minister Michaelia Cash hailed the passage of the legislation as a key win for the government, saying it would bring officials from key organisations including unions into line with the same standards and penalties that apply to company directors under Corporations Law.
Win for honest unions
She said the bill was a win for honest union members to prevent rip-offs and corruption such as exposed in the scandal-plagued Health Services Union.
"I commend the crossbench senators who negotiated constructively to deliver good policy in the national interest," Senator Cash said.
"Sadly, Labor has opposed this legislation every step of the way for the last three years, despite the undeniable evidence that the laws governing registered organisations were desperately in need of reform."
National employer groups also welcomed the passage of the government's legislation. The Australian Industry Group said the recent royal commission into trade unions had determined that the laws needed to change.
"The findings of the Heydon royal commission into misconduct by some unions and some union officials demonstrated that the existing registered organisation laws needed to change," Ai Group chief executive Innes Willox said.