Australian Industry Group made a submission in response to the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations' consultation on the development of the Secure Australian Jobs Code.

We are strongly urging the Government to not proceed with the proposed Code.

Such a Code is an unjustifiable measure given Australia's comprehensive workplace relations system and would inevitably negatively affect business productivity and innovation, create additional budgetary strain, and ultimately harm both taxpayers and the broader community.

Recent high-profile controversies in the construction sector provide a vivid demonstration of the risk of blending government procurement practices with workplace relations objectives.

Queensland's experience with the now terminated Best Practice Industrial Conditions procurement policy (BPIC) demonstrates that embedding 'best practice' industrial conditions in procurement risks sowing the seeds for dramatic and inappropriate increases in costs, reduced productivity and competition, and abuse by unions.

Similarly, industry experience of the Secure Local Jobs Code in the ACT and Fair Jobs Code in Victoria, are that they are not only unjustifiable but they have also resulted in a significant regulatory and compliance burden as well as increased costs. The proposed Code must not replicate these approaches.

We are deeply concerned that an inappropriately framed Code could be recipe for the development of analogous problems on a national scale.

Although we strongly urge refraining from embedding such a Code within the Commonwealth Procurement Rules or legislative framework, we have nonetheless provided a detailed response to the consultation paper seeking to constructively identify measures to reduce adverse or unfair consequences of the operation of any proposed Code.

Above all, the proposed Code must maintain the overarching imperative for procurement, which is to deliver value for money for the Government and Australian taxpayers.