Self Employed Australia is the registered trading name of Independent Contractors of Australia incorporated. We are registered in Victoria, but operate nationally. ICA was formed in 2000 and adopted the name ‘Self Employed Australia’ in June 2017.
Secretary
Ken Phillips
Executive Director, SEA
Ken Phillips is co-founder and Executive Director of Independent Contractors of Australia. Ken is an independent contractor operating as his own business, as a researcher, commentator and lobbyist, and consultant on workplace management issues.
Amongst his many activities, Ken is a published authority on independent contractor issues and directs research on related commercial and trade practices issues. His strongest interest is management issues and the development of internal and external relationship building for organizations. Within this framework he promotes the concept of ‘markets in the firm’. Through his numerous articles in newspapers and think-tank and academic journals, Ken is known for approaching issues from outside normal perspectives and is frequently sought out for media comment.
Ken was ICA’s representative at the 2003 and 2006 International Labour Organisation debate on the ‘Scope of Employment Relationship.’ The ILO outcomes formed the conceptual basis for Australia’s Independent Contractors Act.
Ken has published a book entitled Independence and the Death of Employment. Information about the book is available here.
A fuller biography of Ken can be found here [PDF].
ICA Rules of Association
Click here for ICA’s Rules of Association (ICA members only).
Contractor Rights Manifesto
Click here for ICA’s Declaration of Contractor Rights [PDF].
Independent Contractors of Australia (ICA) is a not for profit association incorporated under the Associations Incorporation Act (1981) of Victoria. ICA is governed by a committee under the rules established by the Articles of Association adopted as recommended under the Victorian Act and as amended.
Membership
Membership is open to all self-employed people or those who are interested in being self-employed. Membership is also available to companies who use the self-employed.
Objectives
ICA was formed to protect the rights of independent contractors and all self-employed people to be treated fairly, justly and equitably in Australia and to be allowed to work free from intimidation or harassment from bureaucrats, the Australian Taxation Office, political parties, unions, big business and others.
Achieving Objectives
SEA seeks to achieve self-employed people’s rights by:
Education. Assisting all self-employed people to understand their status and their rights under law. This is a primary task of the web site.
Networking. To assist self-employed people across all industry sectors to network on issues of common interest. Attacks against the self-employed in one sector must be seen and defended as attacks upon all self-employed people.
Advocacy. To undertake public and private advocacy to ensure that legislation and regulation treats self-employed people with justice and equity.
Management of SEA
SEA has established a broad and wide membership and is committed to keeping operational costs and membership fees low. For this reason the administration of SEA including membership contact is handled predominantly through this web site.
ICA Articles of Association state:
The objectives for which the association is established are
a) To uphold and defend the rights of all Australians to engage in the economy as free and independent contractors, and to be fully and unambiguously recognised by governments, tax officials and regulators as independent contractors.
b) To provide the public with resources, including an online library of articles, submissions, opinions and links to sources, in order that those seeking to understand the rights and obligations of independent contractors have access to high quality, current educational materials.
c) To engage in public debate, and provide strategic advice to government on policy issues so as to ensure that the Australian community, as a whole, is constantly reminded that freedom is indivisible, and that if Australians’ rights to engage freely in the economy are impaired or denied, then the rights of all Australians to live in freedom will be set at risk.
d) To take advantage of opportunities to entrench within the common law the distinctions which the courts, over many years, have made between an employment and a commercial contract in economic relationships.
e) To provide advocacy and educational services for all independent contractors and self-employed people to enable them to fully access their rights as independent, self-employed business people
f) To do all such other things as the Board of the Association shall think incidental or conducive to the attainment of the aforesaid objects.
Registrations
Australian Business Number: 54 403 453 626
Incorporation Number (Victoria): [A0050004U]
Independent Contractors of Australia Trademark Registration Number: 117343
Self Employed Australia is an ASIC registered Business Name of Independent Contractors Australia
National Bricklayers Australia is an ASIC registered Business Name of Independent Contractors Australia
The following domain names are registered to Independent Contractors Australia:
independentcontractors.net.au
selfemployedaustralia.com.au
selfemployedaustralia.com
selfemployedaustralia.net
selfemployedaustralia.org