The politically contentious pre-approval scheme for companies seeking public contracts will be put under the microscope twice, with a parliamentary inquiry to examine the code along with a government-commissioned review.
A parliamentary committee on Tuesday announced it would examine the Secure Local Jobs Code, which the opposition wants scrapped in an effort to weed out what it says is undue union influence in the procurement system.
But the government has committed to its own review and has begun work to establish its process in consultation with the Secure Local Jobs Advisory Council.
Deputy Chief Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said the government would consult with the Assembly's public accounts and administration committee on how best to manage the obvious risks of duplication.
"Many of the issues raised by stakeholders relate to the effectiveness of local industry participation policies and the management of contractors and subcontracting arrangements, rather than the operation of the Code itself," Ms Stephen-Smith said.
"The government's review will include consideration of the code's role in the wider procurement system, recognising there has been significant procurement reform in recent years.
"I would welcome a conversation with the committee to discuss how its inquiry can further inform the government's work and hear a broad range of stakeholder perspectives."
The Liberals' James Milligan, who chairs the public accounts and administration committee, said the parliamentary inquiry was intended to examine if the code was achieving its objectives of supporting local jobs, upholding industrial relations standards, and delivering value for money.
Ms Stephen-Smith, who led the introduction of the code in 2018, has defended the code from the most recent political attacks.
"The Secure Local Jobs Code is about ensuring that when the ACT government spends public money, it supports good jobs, safe workplaces and businesses that do the right thing," she said.
Firms are issued certificates under the code allowing them to work on large government projects if they can demonstrate they "meet industrial relations, fair treatment of workers, work health and safety and diversity and inclusion standards," the government says.
The opposition called for it to be scrapped after the Integrity Commission released its findings from Operation Kingfisher, which found corruption in a school expansion procurement process as a result of efforts to curry favour with the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU).
Integrity Commissioner Michael Adams KC has said it would be "unreal" to think the CFMEU's intervention that led to its preferred contractor being handed work on the Campbell primary school upgrade despite it costing more was the first time they had tried.
But Mr Adams said the Secure Local Jobs Code "does seem to be a reasonable approach to a difficult problem".
The CFMEU had circumvented the code in the Campbell school case because it did not actually allow the union to have a direct say over a procurement, unlike the process set out in an earlier memorandum of understanding between UnionsACT and the ACT government, he told a parliamentary inquiry.
The memorandum was signed in 2015 and had been superseded but would now be formally ended, the government said last week.
