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 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 the judicial functions of interpreting and enforcing awards and hearing other criminal and civil cases relating to industrial relations law. The Court was declared invalid by 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 the '' Boilermakers' case'',. and was replaced by two bodies: 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 ...

and 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 ...

History

The Court was created in 1904 by 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 ...

'',. an Act of the

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

. The Court was initially less important than the various State industrial conciliation commissions, which had jurisdiction over all disputes which occurred within their respective states. The Court's workload was so low that it made only six awards in the first five years of its existence. Amendments in 1926 reformed the Court. The changes included replacing the office of President with that of Chief Judge alongside other judges, and ensuring all cases involving the basic or living wage would be heard by a full bench of the Court. The changes also allowed for the appointment of Conciliation Commissioners, with a role similar to mediators. Further changes were made to the Court in 1947 to increase the role of the Commissioners, leaving the judges to conduct the judicial work, and a select few matters of arbitration including the basic wage and the minimum wage for women. In 1956, the

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 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 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 ...

under the Australian Constitution. The decision has come to stand for the important doctrine 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 ...

. The decision effectively rendered the Court defunct. Following the decision, two new bodies were created to perform the function of the now-defunct Court. The

was created in 1956 to carry out the non-judicial functions.. It was renamed the Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Commission in 1973,. 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,. Fair Work Australia in 2010,. and 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.. The

was created to exercise the Court's judicial powers. In 1973 the Industrial Court 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 ...

Notable decisions

One of the Court's early awards was the landmark ''

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 ...

'' (Ex Parte H.V. McKay of 1907), delivered by Justice

H.B. Higgins Henry Bournes Higgins KC (30 June 1851 – 13 January 1929) was an Australian lawyer, politician, and judge. He served on the High Court of Australia from 1906 until his death in 1929, after briefly serving as Attorney-General of Australia in ...

, which introduced the concept of the

living wage A living wage is defined as the minimum income necessary for a worker to meet their basic needs. This is not the same as a subsistence wage, which refers to a biological minimum, or a solidarity wage, which refers to a minimum wage tracking labor ...

into Australian industrial relations. Within 25 years, the concept of a living wage had been extended to most of the Australian workforce, and influenced later decisions establishing certain types of paid leave, and equal pay for indigenous Australians and women. During the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, the Court reduced wages by 10%. The Court also decided cases setting the standard working week in Australia. In 1904, the standard working week was 48 hours. In 1930, the Court reduced the working week to 44 hours. In 1947, the Court reduced the working week to 40 hours in a case that took two years to hear.

List of presidents and judges

References

{{reflist 1904 establishments in Australia 1956 disestablishments in Australia Arbitration courts and tribunals Former Commonwealth of Australia courts and tribunals Courts and tribunals established in 1904 Courts and tribunals disestablished in 1956