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Australian labour law concerns
Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...
, state, and
common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...
on rights and duties of workers, unions and employers in
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. Australian
labour law Labour laws (also known as labor laws or employment laws) are those that mediate the relationship between workers, employing entities, trade unions, and the government. Collective labour law relates to the tripartite relationship between employee, ...
(also known as industrial relations law) has a dual structure, where some employment issues and relationships are governed by Commonwealth (the
Australian federal government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government ...
) laws, and others are governed by state and territory laws or the
common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...
. It shares a heritage with laws across the
Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Co ...
,
UK labour law United Kingdom labour law regulates the relations between workers, employers and trade unions. People at work in the UK can rely upon a minimum charter of employment rights, which are found in Acts of Parliament, Regulations, common law and equit ...
and standards set by the
International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...
, the Australian legislature and
courts A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance ...
have a built a comprehensive charter of rights at work.


Constitutional basis

The conciliation and arbitration power of the Commonwealth was originally based on Section 51(xxxv) of the Constitution of Australia, which provides: :"The ommonwealthParliament shall, subject to this Constitution, have power to make laws for the peace, order, and good government of the Commonwealth with respect to: ::(xxxv)
conciliation Conciliation is an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) process whereby the parties to a dispute use a conciliator, who meets with the parties both separately and together in an attempt to resolve their differences. They do this by lowering te ...
and
arbitration Arbitration is a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) that resolves disputes outside the judiciary courts. The dispute will be decided by one or more persons (the 'arbitrators', 'arbiters' or 'arbitral tribunal'), which renders the ' ...
for the prevention and settlement of industrial disputes extending beyond the limits of any one state". The Commonwealth's power to make laws about labour law under the conciliation and arbitration power was seen as being extremely narrow and limited. The Commonwealth government sought to widen its industrial powers by other means. For example, in 1906 two bills were introduced that would become the ''Customs Tariff Act'' 1906,. and the ''Excise Tariff Act'' 1906. which exempted manufacturers who paid "fair and reasonable" wages to their employees from these duties. The
Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration The Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration was an Australian court that operated from 1904 to 1956 with jurisdiction to hear and arbitrate interstate industrial disputes, and to make awards. It also had the judicial functions of i ...
in the ''
Harvester case ''Ex parte H.V. McKay'',''Ex parte H.V. McKay'(1907) 2 CAR 1 commonly referred to as the ''Harvester case'', is a landmark Australian labour law decision of the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration. The case arose under the ''Exci ...
'' (1907) was required to determine what were "fair and reasonable" wages, but the
High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is Australia's apex court. It exercises Original jurisdiction, original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified within Constitution of Australia, Australia's Constitution. The High Court was established fol ...
in ''
R v Barger ''R v Barger''. is a 1908 High Court of Australia case where the majority held that the Section 51(ii) of the Australian Constitution, taxation power The prosecutions Despite the declaration in the Harvester case, McKay did not increase the w ...
'' (1908). struck down the government's strategy of using the taxation power to enact labour laws as invalid. The ''Barger'' decision was made in the context of the then prevailing reserved State powers doctrine, which was itself overturned in 1920 in the ''
Engineers case ''Amalgamated Society of Engineers v Adelaide Steamship Co Ltd'', commonly known as the ''Engineers case'', . was a landmark decision by the High Court of Australia on 31 August 1920. The immediate issue concerned the Commonwealth's power under ...
''. Since 2005, Australian
industrial relations law Labour laws (also known as labor laws or employment laws) are those that mediate the relationship between workers, employing entities, trade unions, and the government. Collective labour law relates to the tripartite relationship between employee, ...
s, such as
WorkChoices WorkChoices was the name given to changes made to the federal industrial relations laws in Australia by the Howard Government in 2005, being amendments to the ''Workplace Relations Act 1996'' by the ''Workplace Relations Amendment (Work Choices ...
, have been primarily based on the corporations power in section 51(xx) of the Constitution, "The Parliament shall, subject to this Constitution, have power to make laws for the peace, order, and good government of the Commonwealth with respect to: (xx) foreign corporations, and trading or financial corporations formed within the limits of the Commonwealth". which enables labour laws to be of much wider reach, without the constraints imposed by the conciliation and arbitration power. The corporations power gives the federal parliament power to make laws with respect to "trading and financial corporations formed within the limits of the Commonwealth", as well as 'foreign' corporations.


History


Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration

The Commonwealth passed the ''
Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1904 The ''Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1904'' (Cth) was an Act of the Parliament of Australia, which established the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration, besides other things, and sought to introduce the rule of law i ...
'', based on conciliation and arbitration power, which sought to introduce the rule of law in industrial relations in Australia and, besides other things, established the
Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration The Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration was an Australian court that operated from 1904 to 1956 with jurisdiction to hear and arbitrate interstate industrial disputes, and to make awards. It also had the judicial functions of i ...
, whose functions included the hearing and arbitration of industrial disputes, and to make
awards An award, sometimes called a distinction, is something given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration. An award ...
. It also had judicial functions of interpreting and enforcing awards and hearing other criminal and civil cases relating to industrial relations law. The Act originally applied to industrial disputes "extending beyond the limits of any one State, including disputes in relation to employment upon State railways, or to employment in industries carried on by or under the control of the Commonwealth or a State or any public authority constituted under the Commonwealth or a State".
Andrew Fisher Andrew Fisher (29 August 186222 October 1928) was an Australian politician who served three terms as prime minister of Australia – from 1908 to 1909, from 1910 to 1913, and from 1914 to 1915. He was the leader of the Australian Labor Party ...
amended the 1904 Act to provide greater authority for the court president and to allow Commonwealth employees' industrial unions to register. In disputes involving a company in a single state either a union or industrial organisation will rope them into a federal award by arguing that they are part of an industry in which a dispute extending beyond the limits of any one state exist. (This can be done by finding another company which did similar work and serving them with a log of claims concurrently or by virtue of a company's membership of a peak industry body.) Alternatively, if the company was not covered by a federal Award it would be covered by the various States' industrial relations systems, and disputes are conciliated or arbitrated by the state industrial relations commissions which would create an industry rule Award.


Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission

In 1956, the High Court in the '' Boilermakers' case'' held that the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration, as a
tribunal A tribunal, generally, is any person or institution with authority to judge, adjudicate on, or determine claims or disputes—whether or not it is called a tribunal in its title. For example, an advocate who appears before a court with a single ...
exercising the non-judicial power of arbitration, could not also exercise
judicial power The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudication, adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and app ...
as a
Chapter III Court In Australian constitutional law, Chapter III Courts are courts of law which are a part of the Australian federal judiciary and thus are able to discharge Commonwealth judicial power. They are so named because the prescribed features of these c ...
. The court was abolished in 1956 and was replaced by two new bodies. The
Commonwealth Industrial Court The Commonwealth Industrial Court, known as the Australian Industrial Court from 1973, was a specialist court to deal with industrial matters, principally the enforcement of awards and orders of the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Com ...
was created to exercise the court's judicial powers. In 1973, it was renamed the Australian Industrial Court, and in 1977 its functions were transferred to the new
Federal Court of Australia The Federal Court of Australia is an Australian superior court of record which has jurisdiction to deal with most civil disputes governed by federal law (with the exception of family law matters), along with some summary (less serious) and indic ...
.. The
Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission The Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC), known from 1956 to 1973 as the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission and from 1973 to 1988 as the Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Commission, was a tribunal with powers ...
was also created in 1956 to carry out the non-judicial functions of the previous Court.. In 1973, it was renamed the Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Commission,. and replaced by the
Australian Industrial Relations Commission The Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC), known from 1956 to 1973 as the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission and from 1973 to 1988 as the Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Commission, was a tribunal with powers ...
in 1988.. The wage fixing function of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission was removed and given to the newly created
Australian Fair Pay Commission The Australian Fair Pay Commission was an Australian statutory body that existed from 2006 to 2009. It was created under the Howard Government's "''WorkChoices''" industrial relations laws in 2006 to set the minimum pay for workers. Established t ...
in 2006 as part of the WorkChoices amendments. Both the Australian Industrial Relations Commission and the Australian Fair Pay Commission were dissolved in 2009, to be succeeded by Fair Work Australia in 2010,. and renamed the
Fair Work Commission The Fair Work Commission (FWC), until 2013 known as Fair Work Australia (FWA), is the Australian industrial relations tribunal created by the ''Fair Work Act 2009'' as part of the Rudd Government's reforms to industrial relations in Australia ...
in 2012..


''Industrial Relations Act 1988''

The 1904 Act was amended many times before being repealed by the ''Industrial Relations (Consequential Provisions) Act 1988'' with effect on 1 March 1989, and superseded by the ''
Industrial Relations Act 1988 Australian labour law concerns Commonwealth, state, and common law on rights and duties of workers, unions and employers in Australia. Australian labour law (also known as industrial relations law) has a dual structure, where some employment issu ...
''. The ''Industrial Relations Act 1988'' was amended by the ''Industrial Relations Reform Act 1993'', which adopted a decentralised labour law model with support for
collective bargaining Collective bargaining is a process of negotiation between employers and a group of employees aimed at agreements to regulate working salaries, working conditions, benefits, and other aspects of workers' compensation and rights for workers. The i ...
, rather than the centralised wage-fixing model adopted since the 1970s and formalised under the
Prices and Incomes Accord The Prices and Incomes Accord was an agreement between the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the Australian Labor Party government of Prime Minister Bob Hawke and Treasurer (later Prime Minister) Paul Keating in 1983. Employers were not par ...
between the Hawke Labor government and the
Australian Council of Trade Unions The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), originally the Australasian Council of Trade Unions, is the largest peak body representing workers in Australia. It is a national trade union centre of 46 affiliated unions and eight trades and la ...
.


''Workplace Relations Act 1996'': WorkChoices

In 1996, the Howard Government passed the ''
Workplace Relations Act 1996 The ''Workplace Relations Act 1996'' was an Australian law regarding workplace conditions and rights passed by the Howard government after it came into power in 1996. It replaced the previous Labor Government's ''Industrial Relations Act 1988' ...
'', which replaced the Hawke Government's ''Industrial Relations Act 1988'', with effect on 1 January 1997. The 1996 Act was substantially amended by the '' Workplace Relations Amendment (Work Choices) Act 2005'', (aka Work Choices Act 2005) which came into effect on 27 March 2006, introducing WorkChoices. The 2005 Act used the corporations power to override state systems and unify industrial relations systems under a federal umbrella. In modern Australia, where the corporation is almost ubiquitous in business, that effectively meant the corporations power could be used to make laws about almost all employment relationships. As a consequence, WorkChoices had effective control of 85% of the employees in the Australian workforce. The changes created a separate Australian Fair Pay Commission to set wages, and enhanced powers for the Office of the Employment Advocate and a corresponding lesser role for the Australian Industrial Relations Commission. The constitutional validity of the WorkChoices legislation was challenged in the High Court in '' New South Wales v Commonwealth''. The Court decided by a majority of 5–2 in November 2006 that all the WorkChoices reforms were valid. This was a landmark decision in Australian constitutional law and in Australian federal-state relations, confirming that the width of the scope of the Commonwealth's power in relation to corporations. A 2008 amendment to WorkChoices further expanded the federal government's reach into employer-employee relations when it prohibited awards which were determined by reference to state or territory boundaries or did not have effect in each state and territory.


''Fair Work Act 2009''

The
Rudd Labor Government ''Scardinius'' is a genus of ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae commonly called rudds. Locally, the name "rudd" without any further qualifiers is also used for individual species, particularly the common rudd (''S. erythrophthalmus''). The ...
's ''
Fair Work Act 2009 The ''Fair Work Act 2009'' (Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia, passed by the Rudd Government to reform the industrial relations system of Australia. It replaced the Howard Government's WorkChoices legislation, it established Fai ...
'' ("An Act relating to workplace relations, and for related purposes") (FW Act) repealed the '' Workplace Relations Amendment (Work Choices) Act 2005'', and established Fair Work Australia (renamed
Fair Work Commission The Fair Work Commission (FWC), until 2013 known as Fair Work Australia (FWA), is the Australian industrial relations tribunal created by the ''Fair Work Act 2009'' as part of the Rudd Government's reforms to industrial relations in Australia ...
in 2012), which commenced operation on 1 July 2009. The ''Fair Work Act 2009'' created Fair Work Australia, now the
Fair Work Commission The Fair Work Commission (FWC), until 2013 known as Fair Work Australia (FWA), is the Australian industrial relations tribunal created by the ''Fair Work Act 2009'' as part of the Rudd Government's reforms to industrial relations in Australia ...
, and is still in force . The ''
Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009 The ''Fair Work Act 2009'' (Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia, passed by the Rudd Government to reform the industrial relations system of Australia. It replaced the Howard Government's WorkChoices legislation, it established Fair ...
'' ("An Act relating to registered organisations, and for other purposes") superseded the '' Workplace Relations Act 1996'' (the successor to ''Industrial Relations Act 1988''), and is still in force . The Fair Work Commission's functions include the setting and varying industrial awards,
minimum wage A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation by the end of the 20th century. Bec ...
fixation, dispute resolution, the approval of enterprise agreements, and handling claims for unfair dismissal.


States

The
Victorian Government The Victoria State Government, also referred to as just the Victorian Government, is the state-level authority for Victoria, Australia. Like all state governments, it is formed by three independent branches: the executive, the judicial, and th ...
has referred most of its industrial relations powers to the Commonwealth, most recently via the ''Fair Work (Commonwealth Powers) Act 2009'' (Vic), resulting in a majority of public sector workers in Victoria being covered by the FW Act.Victorian response to Commonwealth Senate Committee on Education, Employment, and Workplace Relations inquiry
/ref>


See also

* ''
Electrolux v AWU ''Electrolux v The Australian Workers' Union'' was a 2004 decision by the High Court of Australia that held that a bargaining agent fee did not pertain to the relationship between employer and employee and so could not be included in an enterpr ...
'' (2004) * Hancock Report (1985) * ''
Harvester case ''Ex parte H.V. McKay'',''Ex parte H.V. McKay'(1907) 2 CAR 1 commonly referred to as the ''Harvester case'', is a landmark Australian labour law decision of the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration. The case arose under the ''Exci ...
'' (1907) *
History of labour law The history of labour law concerns the development of labour law as a way of regulating and improving the life of people at work. In the civilisations of antiquity, the use of slave labour was widespread. Some of the maladies associated with unregu ...
* History of the minimum wage#Australia * '' Patrick Stevedores v MUA'' (1998) * White Paper on Full Employment in Australia (1945) – defined economic policy for 30 years


Notes


References


Further reading

* (In 1996, Victoria referred the bulk of its industrial powers to the Commonwealth.) {{DEFAULTSORT:Australian Labour Law Labour law by country