Workplace and Employment Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith appointed members of the new Secure Local Jobs Code advisory council shortly before Christmas.

The code will apply to security, cleaning, construction and traffic companies tendering for ACT government work from January 15, and requires bosses to give new employees union membership forms and give union representatives access to their internet service, photocopiers and tea rooms.

Contractors must also give the Secure Local Jobs registrar addresses, working hours and contact details before the job begins to allow unions to exercise their right of entry.

The new council, which will advise the minister on procurement matters, includes United Voice secretary Lyndal Ryan, CFMEU ACT assistant secretary Zach Smith and Unions ACT secretary Alex White.

Unions have long pushed for the code, which is a formalisation of Unions ACT's longstanding memorandum of understanding with the government. The advisory group was required to have a minimum of three employee representative body members.

However there was no mandatory minimum for the number of employer representatives on the council, with the other three positions to be appointed at the minister's discretion.

Predictions from the ACT opposition that the council would be stacked with union officials have not materialised, with new Canberra Business Chamber chief executive Dr Michael Schaper, Millennium Services Group state operations manager Menka Zarzour and the ACT government's deputy director-general of workforce capability and governance Meredith Whitten given a place on the council.

However one of the code's biggest critics, the Master Builders Association of the ACT, was not given a place, nor were any of their suggested local businesses.

Instead, the seventh member of the council is Local Jobs Code Registrar Andrew Parkinson, who is also a public servant.

The role of chair will be taken by Ms Whitten, who also sits on the ACT Government Procurement Board.

Asked why an additional public service member had been appointed, an ACT government spokeswoman said Ms Whitten had appropriate experience to help the council exercise its functions.

"It is not unusual to appoint a public servant to an advisory council. For example, a number of public servants sit on the tripartite Work Safety Council, which provides advice to the

Minister for Employment and Workplace Safety," she said.

Master Builders Association ACT executive director Michael Hopkins expressed concerns about the make-up of the council.

"Master Builders was not requested by the ACT government to nominate construction sector representatives for the Secure Local Jobs Advisory Council," he said.

"We made a number of suggestions for suitably experienced people to join the council via the Canberra Business Chamber, however we note that none of our suggestions were taken up by the government.

"With the construction industry one of the four targeted sectors of the new procurement code, it is difficult to see how the views of small and family businesses from this significant sector of the economy will be represented."

The code poses particular difficulties for construction companies, as it potentially conflicts with the federal government's building code. It is believed almost all companies that want to tender for federal and territory work will need to apply for an exemption from holding a Secure Local Jobs Code certificate.

Federal Industrial Relations Minister Kelly O'Dwyer said last month the ACT code would create unnecessary uncertainty and confusion for small businesses throughout the territory, and people virtually needed a degree to understand their obligations.

The council also has only one representative directly from a company tendering for government work, Ms Zarzour.

Millennium Services Group provides cleaning, security and integrated services on the eastern and southern seaboards of Australia, and has provided $2.6 million of cleaning work to the ACT government since last August.

The ACT government spokeswoman denied this would give the company an inside track into government procurement decisions, instead saying it would allow the council to benefit from Ms Zarzour's experience in tendering for territory work.

"The council does not have a role in awarding, or not awarding, government procurement contracts nor does it decide who is or who is not granted a secure local jobs code certificate," she said.

"The appointment of Ms Zarzour to the council is not considered to be a conflict of interest. Her extensive experience in the cleaning industry and with government procurement gives her the experience to assist in the functions of the council.

"All members of the council will be obliged to declare any potential conflicts of interest and any specific conflicts would be managed in accordance with the protocols that apply across all ACT government advisory bodies."

All companies tendering for ACT government work, including from the Office of the Legislative Assembly, the Canberra Institute of Technology, Suburban Land Agency and the City Renewal Authority, will eventually have to become code-certified.

They must be audited in order to apply for a Secure Local Jobs Code certificate, which can last up to 18 months.

Companies can lose their certificates for serious industrial relations infractions, which may lead to the cancellation of their contract with the government.

Clarification: Union representatives, not union officials, must be allowed access to photocopiers under the new code.