Mr Hollis asked the Minister for Workplace Relations and Small Business, upon notice, on 11 March 1998:

(1) What are the precise roles and responsibilities of employees of the Office of the Employment Advocate.

(2) Does the role of an employee of the Office of the Employment Advocate include the video taping and other forms of surveillance of persons involved in picket lines and other associated industrial action; if so, why.

(3) How many employees of the Office of the Employment Advocate are located in the Illawarra region, NSW.

(4) Has his attention been drawn to an industrial dispute between NSW Grain Corporation's Pivot management and the Australian Workers Union at Port Kembla, NSW.

Mr Reith (Workplace Relations and Small Business) —The answer to the honourable member's question is as follows:

(1) Employees of the Office of the Employment Advocate (OEA) carry out functions outlined in 83BB of the Workplace Relations Act 1996 (`the Act'). Those functions are principally in relation to advising and assisting employers and employees in relation to rights and obligations under the Act; filing and approval of AWAs; investigating breaches of AWAs and of certain penalty provisions regarding AWAs; and investigating contraventions of the freedom of association provisions of the Act.

Staff carrying out compliance work are appointed as authorised officers under Section 83BG of the Act and as Inspectors under Section 84 of the Act. The role of authorised officers is to seek to ensure compliance with the Act, in particular the freedom of association and AWA provisions. The role of compliance officers appointed as inspectors is to ascertain whether certain provisions of the Act (namely provisions regarding coercion into Certified Agreements, payment of strike pay, and the provisions concerning right of entry) have been observed.

(2) The actions of OEA employees who have been appointed as authorised officers and/or inspectors are undertaken in accordance with sections 83BH and 86 of the Act respectively. No OEA officer has been involved in the videotaping of any industrial activity. Observation of picket lines or other industrial activity would only be undertaken if such observation was required to ascertain whether there had been a breach of a provision of the Act for which the OEA is responsible (eg. the freedom of association provisions).

(3) No officers are located in the Illawarra region. Officers based in Sydney are able to respond to complaints in the Illawarra region.

(4) Yes.