Written by: Wilhelm Harnisch, Chief Executive Officer, 25 Jul 2012

Master Builders Australia has released the third edition of its Modern Award Manual to help the building and construction industry understand its compliance requirements and changes to the modern award.

Wilhelm Harnisch, Chief Executive Officer of Master Builders Australia said the Manual is a ‘must have’ publication for employers in the industry.

“The Modern Award Manual breaks down each clause of the Building and Construction General On-Site Award to make sense of one of the most complicated and unintelligible modern awards in the country.

“The industry’s safety net is unnecessarily complex and almost impossible to fully comprehend. The Modern Award Manual helps builders make sense of it,” Mr Harnisch said.

The Building and Construction General On-Site Award 2010, together with the National Employment Standards set the minimum employment standards for all employees in the building and construction industry.

“Everyone in the industry needs to be familiar with the safety net standards, even if employees are engaged under enterprise agreements. All enterprise agreements must be ‘better-off overall’ when compared to the modern award,” Mr Harnisch said.

Updated from 1 July 2012, the Modern Award Manual expands on previous editions to provide employers with up to date guidance on the Building and Construction General On-Site Award 2010. It features outcomes from litigation, including the Full Bench proceedings on adult apprentice wage rates.

In a review of the 2011 edition, the Australian Construction Law Newsletter said “the commentary is excellent; rendering what are often cryptic texts intelligible.”

The Modern Award Manual can be purchased from the Master Builders Website: http://www.masterbuilders.com.au/products/modern-award-manual