Welcome to the AREEA Member Portal

Login

Register

Is your company a member of AREEA?  Register now to access the Member Portal

Welcome to the AREEA Member Portal

News, information and resources in one location for your access to ongoing support.

From fact sheets, guides and reference libraries to breaking news, the portal is your comprehensive and exclusive reference tool.

Three new members join FWC as another departs early

Steve KnottQuality appointments to the Fair Work Commission (FWC) is one step in the right direction to restore balance and confidence in the workplace tribunal. However, with yet another presidential member resigning, there are continual signs that all is not well with the FWC.

Here, AREEA chief executive Steve Knott (pictured right) provides an update on these recent developments and the resource employer group’s ongoing campaign for change.

EMPLOYERS and indeed all users of Australia’s workplace relations system received welcome news on Thursday (23 March) with Minister for Employment Michaelia Cash announcing three new appointments to the FWC.

In recent months, AREEA has highlighted the issue of growing vacancies at the FWC and the urgent need for new appointees to have business experience and legal qualifications.

We are pleased the Australian Government has acted to fill vacancies on the national employment tribunal and have selected quality appointees who add considerably to the FWC’s bench strength.

Peter Anderson, Alan Colman and Sarah McKinnon are exceptional picks for the tribunal, bringing broad expertise and experience across law, business and workplace relations.

Peter Anderson, appointed a Deputy President of the FWC, highly regarded by business, unions and the legal community has lead the nation’s umbrella business representative organisation, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) for six years.

I found him during this time to be an effective and considered statesman, engaging equally with all social partners to support valuable investment and employment outcomes.

Peter’s strength is that he has also been Australia’s representative for the Governing Body of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) where he has advocated Australia’s interests and values in discussions on workplace relations, youth unemployment, freedom of association, economic and taxation policy and many other key social issues.

The two additional appointees are similarly high quality additions to the tribunal.

Alan Colman, also appointed to deputy president, is a partner at Corrs Chambers Westgarth, has two decades experience in workplace relations law and has also worked for European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and at the United Nations.

Sarah McKinnon, appointed as a commissioner, is currently general manager of workplace relations and legal affairs at the National Farmers’ Federation.

Sarah and I are both members of the National Workplace Relations Consultative Council where we engage with all social partners to workplace relations (unions, business, government) on a more productive and harmonious system going forward.

She has worked as a lawyer in the public service, and has extensive experience representing small and medium businesses.

All is not well: Another presidential-level member resigns

Yet another surprise early retirement of a longstanding, presidential-level member, Senior Deputy President Jennifer Acton, a 25-year member of the tribunal, marks the fourth presidential-level member to retire from the FWC in recent months, well before their statutory retirement age.

Senior Deputy President Matthew O’Callaghan retired February 2017, Vice President Graeme Watson (January 2017), and Senior Deputy President Peter Richards (September 2016).

SDP Acton has contributed significantly to the tribunal’s work, having presided over important appeals, participated in precedent-setting Full Bench test cases and headed industry panels across multiple sectors.

Her resignation is a cause for concern.

VP Watson is on the public record criticising the direction and leadership of the tribunal, which he describes as ‘partisan, dysfunctional and divided’.

None of this is good for Australian employers and employees, who need to have confidence in the stability, independence and consistency of the workplace tribunal – all of which has been lacking in recent years.

While damaging and unfortunate, these developments should come as little surprise after the former Labor government, between 2007 and 2013, undertook an unprecedented political restructure and stacking of the tribunal.

This period saw 18 appointments coming from a Labor or union background, in addition to two new vice presidents hand-picked by Bill Shorten and FWC President Iain Ross, and only two appointees from that period having clear business backgrounds.

Such partisan meddling in Australia’s workplace tribunal, which has been an independent and respected institution since federation, was always going to result in this type of dysfunction.

Reforming the Fair Work Commission

AREEA is lobbying the current Australian Government to put an end to the dysfunction and politicisation of the FWC.

While appointing three new members, all with legal qualifications and business experience, is very good start, more substantive reform is needed to fix fundamental issues with the FWC’s structure and direction.

This includes addressing the dysfunction that continues to see well respected and longstanding senior members leave the tribunal before their statutory retirement dates.

AREEA is encouraging the government to overhaul the tribunal, its direction and activities, including by:

  • Seeking new appointees with experience running businesses and employing staff rather than making selections from the pool of ex-trade union bosses and labour lawyers; and
  • Pursuing the creation of a new, separate appeals jurisdiction to ensure consistent decision making and send clearer signals about employment to business owners and managers.
  • Stopping the growth and reach of paid conciliators, some of whom remain politically active, who are doing work that should be solely in the remit of sworn FWC members (for example, unfair dismissal conciliations);
  • Prioritising the filling of vacancies within the FWC created by the high volume of departures and the unexpected early resignations of several presidential-level members;
  • Appointing new FWC members to ‘commissioner’ level, given the tribunal currently has ‘too many chiefs, not enough Indians’, with 21 Commissioners and 20 Presidential members.

You can read more about AREEA’s campaign to replace the Fair Work Commission with modern, balanced institutions, as well as other key priorities for workplace relations reform identified by our members here.

To share your experiences with the Fair Work Commission and contribute to AREEA’s advocacy to reform Australia’s employment institutions, contact [email protected]

Create your AREEA Member login

Register