FAIR WORK COMMISSION

The Fair Work Commission was required to review all modern awards every four years under the Fair Work Act 2009. The current review involved a staged process, including an initial stage, a common issues stage, and an award stage. The Commission held conferences for Group 2 awards on 23 October and 2 December 2014. The 2 December conference involved parties submitting written outlines of variations they intended to pursue, and amendments to these submissions were made during the conference. The Commission also proposed that certain awards be referred to a single member for a conference prior to hearings scheduled for March 2015.

The legal issues before the Commission involved the process for the review of Group 2 awards, the preparation of exposure drafts, and the timeline for submissions and hearings. The Commission was required to balance the need for an efficient review process with the need to ensure all parties had an opportunity to make submissions. The Commission also needed to ensure that the exposure drafts incorporated any technical and drafting changes, but did not incorporate substantive changes or represent the Commission's final view on any issue.

The Commission determined that the review process would involve the publication of exposure drafts and comparative documents for each award, and parties would have an opportunity to make written submissions and submissions in reply. The Commission also determined that some awards or issues may be dealt with by other Full Benches, and hearings would be listed in March 2015. The Commission revised the closing dates for written submissions and submissions in reply, and encouraged parties to subscribe to the award matters notification service to be kept informed of the progress of the Review.

The Commission also added a new search facility to the 4 yearly review website, which allowed users to search for any document related to the 4 yearly review that had been published on the Commission’s website. This function was intended to assist parties navigate the 4 yearly review website. The Commission's website would continue to be used extensively throughout the Review.