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 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 ...

with powers under 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 ...

(and equivalent earlier legislation) that existed from 1956 until 2010. It was the central institution of

Australian labour law 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 is ...

. The AIRC replaced a previous system of industrial courts, which broadly speaking, was engaged in the same functions, but with superior independence and powers.

History

Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration and the ''Boilermakers'' decision

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 ...

, a court created in 1904 to hear and

arbitrate 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 ' ...

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 ...

, was abolished in 1956 following the decision of the High Court in '' the Boilermakers' case''. The High Court held that the Court of Conciliation and Arbitration, as a

exercising the non-judicial power of

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 ...

, 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 adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

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 decision became an important demonstration of the

separation of powers in Australia The separation of powers in Australia is the division of the institutions of the Australian government into legislative, executive and judicial branches. This concept is where legislature makes the laws, the executive put the laws into operation ...

Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission

Following the decision, two new bodies were created to emulate the function of the defunct court; the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission was created to carry out the non-judicial functions, and the Commonwealth Industrial Court (which would later be subsumed into the

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 ...

) was created to exercise judicial powers. Throughout its time the Commission created Awards which covered a whole raft of industries. These Awards with Awards made by Industrial Relations Commissions of the respective six states of Australia acted as the unique system of minimum wage setting in Australia. The Commission also registered a large number of trade unions to assist in the Award formation process. The Commission is famous for its cases on equal work and equal pay, as well as decisions on

unfair dismissal In labour law, unfair dismissal is an act of employment termination made without good reason or contrary to the country's specific legislation. Situation per country Australia (See: '' unfair dismissal in Australia'') Australia has long-standing ...

, and redundancy pay. One issue which dogged the Commission was that of what "pertained to the relationship between employer and employee". This had been a question of importance, since the Constitution required the Commission settle industrial disputes. These disputes were later categorised as a "dispute about matters which pertained to the relationship between employer and employee." The question continued to surface and in 2004 the

High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is Australia's apex court. It exercises original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified within Australia's Constitution. The High Court was established following passage of the '' Judiciary Act 1903''. ...

in the case of

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 ...

applied the question (which had historically been applied to Awards) to Enterprise Bargaining Agreements. This led to around 6 months of industrial confusion until the Australian Industrial Relations Commission handed down the landmark decision of the Schefenacker, the Murray Bridge and the La Trobe University certified agreements ('

the three certified agreements case ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

').'

The three certified agreements case ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

' Giudice J, President, Lawler VP, Simmonds C
PR956575
18 March 2005. It was seen by many as fitting that the last significant decision made by the Australian Industrial Relations Commission was to conclusively determine which matter did or did not pertain.

Role

From 1956 to 2006 the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (under its various names) made awards which set the minimum terms and conditions of employment for workers who worked for certain employers or within certain industries. A standard award would have approximately 20–30 conditions and would be around 40 pages in length. The Awards were reviewed periodically. The AIRC would also certify enterprise bargaining agreements. These agreements were negotiated collective contracts commonly between a union (as representative of the employees on a site) and an employer of the site. The AIRC also registered trade unions and dealt with demarcation disputes between unions. Finally, the AIRC dealt with unfair dismissal applications.

WorkChoices and abolition

In 2006, under the

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 Choice ...

laws effected at the end of 2005, the role of the AIRC was redefined. Its wage-setting powers were largely transferred to the

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 ...

. The AIRC's primary role instead became that of

award 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 awar ...

"modernisation", with limited dispute-settling powers, and hearing of unfair dismissal applications. Under the Rudd Labor Government the AIRC was abolished. Its functions were transferred in January 2010 to a division within

Fair Work Australia 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 Australi ...

(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 Austral ...

References

# # # {{cite web, title=Centenary of Federation and the Court/Commission , format=http , work=Australian Industrial Relations Commission , url=http://www.airc.gov.au/features/ceremonial050601/docs/background.html , access-date=18 January 2006 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060105123942/http://www.airc.gov.au/features/ceremonial050601/docs/background.html , archive-date=5 January 2006 , url-status=dead

External links

Official website
1956 establishments in Australia 2009 disestablishments in Australia Arbitration courts and tribunals Australian labour law Labor relations boards Industrial agreements Industry in Australia Former Commonwealth of Australia courts and tribunals Courts and tribunals established in 1956 Courts and tribunals disestablished in 2009