The ''Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1904'' (Cth) was an Act of the

Parliament of Australia The Parliament of Australia (officially the Federal Parliament, also called the Commonwealth Parliament) is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch (represented by the governor- ...

, which 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 int ...

, besides other things, and sought to introduce the rule of law in

industrial relations Industrial relations or employment relations is the multidisciplinary academic field that studies the employment relationship; that is, the complex interrelations between employers and employees, labor/trade unions, employer organizations, ...

in Australia. The Act received

royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in oth ...

on 15 December 1904. The Act 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”. The Act was amended many times and was superseded by the ''Industrial Relations Act 1988'' and was repealed by the ''Industrial Relations (Consequential Provisions) Act 1988'' with effect on 1 March 1989. The ''Industrial Relations Act 1988'' was itself replaced by 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 ...

''.

Background

Constitutional basis

The Commonwealth’s power to make the law is based on section 51(xxxv) of the Constitution, which gives the Commonwealth power to make laws "in relation to

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". More controversially, the scope of the Act was “extended” to include 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...”. It excluded disputes in “...any agricultural, viticultural, horticultural, or dairying pursuit...”.

History

The Conciliation and Arbitration Bill (1903 & 1904) was drafted by

Charles Kingston Charles Cameron Kingston (22 October 1850 – 11 May 1908) was an Australian politician. From 1893 to 1899 he was a radical liberal Premier of South Australia, occupying this office with the support of Labor, which in the House of Assembly ...

, Australia's pioneer of compulsory arbitration, drawing on

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

's ''

Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1894 The Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1894 was a piece of industrial relations legislation passed by the Parliament of New Zealand in 1894. Enacted by the Liberal Government of New Zealand, it was the world's first compulsory system of ...

''. Kingston was a Minister in Deakin's Protectionist Government, which was supported by the Labour Party. In July 1903, Kingston resigned suddenly from the Deakin government in a fit of anger over the opposition of

John Forrest Sir John Forrest (22 August 1847 – 2 SeptemberSome sources give the date as 3 September 1918 1918) was an Australian explorer and politician. He was the first premier of Western Australia (1890–1901) and a long-serving cabinet minister ...

and

Edmund Barton Sir Edmund "Toby" Barton, (18 January 18497 January 1920) was an Australian politician and judge who served as the first prime minister of Australia from 1901 to 1903, holding office as the leader of the Protectionist Party. He resigned to b ...

to an extension of conciliation and arbitration to British and foreign seamen engaged in the Australian coastal trade. The scope of the legislation was very controversial at the time, resulting in changes of governments of

Alfred Deakin Alfred Deakin (3 August 1856 – 7 October 1919) was an Australian politician who served as the second Prime Minister of Australia. He was a leader of the movement for Federation, which occurred in 1901. During his three terms as prime ministe ...

(

Protectionist Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulations. ...

Chris Watson John Christian Watson (born Johan Cristian Tanck; 9 April 186718 November 1941) was an Australian politician who served as the third prime minister of Australia, in office from 27 April to 18 August 1904. He served as the inaugural federal lea ...

( Labour), and

George Reid Sir George Houston Reid, (25 February 1845 – 12 September 1918) was an Australian politician who led the Reid Government as the fourth Prime Minister of Australia from 1904 to 1905, having previously been Premier of New South Wales fr ...

(

Free Trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econ ...

). In April 1904, Watson and Deakin fell out over the issue of extending the scope of the Conciliation and Arbitration Bill to cover state public servants. Labour members withdrew their support for Deakin, leading to the resignation of Deakin’s Government. Reid refused to form government, leading to the formation of the first Labour government led by Watson. Watson's government lasted only four months and was succeeded in August 1904 by Reid's which agreed to Labour's amendment to cover State government employees, and the Bill was passed with Labour's support.

The Act

The main objects of the Act were:Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1904
s.2 * to prevent lock-outs and strikes in relation to industrial disputes * to constitute a

having jurisdiction for the prevention and settlement of industrial disputes * to provide for the exercise of the jurisdiction of the Court by conciliation with a view to amicable agreement between the parties * in default of amicable agreement between the parties, to provide for the exercise of the jurisdiction of the Court by equitable award * to enable States to refer industrial disputes to the Court, and to permit the working of the Court and of State Industrial Authorities in aid of each other * to facilitate and encourage the organization of representative bodies of employers and of employees and the submission of industrial disputes to the Court by organizations, and to permit representative bodies of employers and of employees to be declared organizations for the purposes of this Act * to provide for the making and enforcement of industrial agreements between employers and employees in relation to industrial disputes.

References

{{reflist

Further sources

National Archives of Australia
A fair go – a win for the workers
Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1904 (Cth)National Archives of Australia
Documenting Democracy: Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1904