Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2011, published 101st ILC session (2012)

Protection of Workers' Claims (Employer's Insolvency) Convention, 1992 (No. 173) - Australia (Ratification: 1994)

Article 3(2) of the Convention. Extension of acceptance to Part III. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government concerning the changes to the General Employee Entitlements and Redundancy Scheme (GEERS) introduced in 2006, 2008 and 2011, particularly as regards the increase of GEERS assistance for redundancy entitlements, and the exclusion of company directors and their relatives. In this connection, it also notes the observations made by the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) which welcomed the improvements to GEERS implemented by the Government as from January 2011. Noting that GEERS is for all practical purposes a guarantee institution within the meaning of Article 9 of the Convention, and also noting that the employees' entitlements covered by GEERS advance payment exceeds the scope of protected claims set out in Article 12 of the Convention, the Committee again ventures to suggest that the Government should consider extending the acceptance of the obligations of the Convention to Part III providing for the protection of workers' claims by a guarantee institution.

Article 4(1). Scope of application. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that following changes made in November 2006 with a view to aligning the GEERS Operational Arrangements with the provisions of the social security legislation, the scheme excludes employees who are not Australian citizens or entitled to reside in Australia permanently. Recalling that pursuant to Article 4(1), the Convention applies to all employees and to all branches of economic activity, the Committee requests the Government to provide additional explanations in this respect and clarify how the service-related claims of non-permanent residents (for instance, overseas people under the temporary residence programme and skilled workers with a business entry visa who are authorized to stay up to four years) are protected in the case of the employer’s insolvency.

Part IV of the report form. Practical application. The Committee notes the statistical information provided by the Government according to which in the period 2009–10, 18,655 claims for GEERS assistance were processed, resulting in over 154 million Australian dollars (AU$) in GEERS payments. This brings the total assistance provided since the introduction of the scheme in 2000 to over AU$1 billion helping more than 102,800 Australian workers. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would continue to provide up-to-date information on the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice.