Hi Bruce and all,

Thank you for the suggestions, though I probably won't forward the RGI Code
of Conduct excerpt to Jo at this time, (although I believe he is a list
member) for two reasons.

Firstly, this is just one example of a current Australian Industrial Dispute
Resolution Code, and possibly not the best available if we are seeking to
emulate something similar for .au administration. If it were envisaged to
incorporate existing strategies into a draft model (which I hope it is),
then possibly the best place to start would be to approach the Industrial
Relations Commission for copies of all relevant industrial Codes of
Conduct - some may be (and I suspect are) far better than the example I
provided.

Secondly, from a personal perspective I think I would rather receive
feedback from this list before promoting anything as a potential solution to
AuDA. I'm sure the committee are stretched for resources at this time, and
would probably appreciate a little bit of pre-analysis and evaluation. At
least by posting it here list members have an opportunity to consider and
discuss the content prior to making it a formal submission. It may well be
that through discussion on this list the model could be substantially
improved.

There's a third reason for my reluctance at this time, and in truth I'm yet
to gauge the feelings on this - Does the industry want a Code of Conduct? -
Meaning: Would the majority of IT businesses represented on this list
willingly sign-off to comply with an Industrial Code? Not to just read the
document, but to make it an integral part of business operations?
Historically the IT industry has been criticised for being aloof and rather
adverse to taking guidance from third parties (I'm allowed to criticise, I'm
a part of this industry!) - perhaps this is the acid test: Can we
self-regulate, or do we need legislation and Government Agencies to control
our business operations?

It all becomes rather pointless if any industry code we develop becomes a
toothless tiger because it lacks industry support. In this scenario the only
option would be to enforce statutory requirements through the promotion of
solutions such as: "Take your complaint to the ACCC" - this is not the
outcome desired by Government; it is not the outcome desired by our
customers (it's time consuming and a significant inconvenience to them);
and, I hope, it is not the outcome desired by our industry.

The ACCC itself will always promote resolution in the first instance between
parties through a recognised industrial Dispute Resolution Process (if it is
available). The ACCC also advises (or so I am told) complainants to approach
industrial representatives in situations where a complaint is not a clear
and defined breach of the Act. It's very important that these mechanisms be
installed so we don't fall into the trap of relying on the ACCC to provide
industrial inter-relations guidance - this is not something they will do for
us - it's my belief that this is something the Government is asking us to do
for ourselves.

(OK - off the soap-box)

Cheers, Don


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