Introduction
The registration of a union or employer association can be cancelled in 3 ways: by the Federal Court of Australia, by the Commission, or if the organisation asks to be deregistered.
Content
The Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009 (the RO Act) sets the rules to cancel registration. We summarise the reasons registration may be cancelled.
Reasons the Federal Court may cancel registration
The reasons the Federal Court of Australia may cancel a registration are set out in section 28 of the RO Act.
Reasons the Fair Work Commission may cancel registration
We can deregister a union or employer organisation if it:
- is no longer needed
- does not represent its members well
- is not free from control or improper influence
- has become smaller than the smallest size allowed by the RO Act.
In any of these cases, the organisation must have a chance to respond first.
When the organisation may ask to cancel registration
A registered organisation can ask us to cancel its registration. It may do this for the same reasons we may deregister the organisation.
Effects of cancellation
When the Court or the Commission cancel a registration:
- the association stops being an organisation and body corporate under the RO Act
- the association and its members remain responsible for any existing penalty or liability
- the association and its members lose the benefits of any award, Commission order or enterprise agreement that bound them
- any remaining property of the organisation (after required payment of debts and obligations have been completed) becomes the property of the association.