FAIR WORK COMMISSION

The Fair Work Commission (FWC) is mandated under section 156 of the Fair Work Act 2009 to conduct a four yearly review of modern awards. This review is to ensure that all modern awards comply with the modern awards objective and other statutory requirements. The Commission identified several common issues that require separate consideration, including those related to casual and part-time employment. The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) and various employer organizations have submitted claims regarding these common issues, with differing perspectives on the appropriate treatment and scope of these claims.

The legal issues before the Commission were whether certain proposed changes to modern awards should be classified as 'common issues' and how these issues should be managed and decided. The Commission needed to determine whether the claims proposed by the ACTU and other parties regarding casual and part-time employment should be treated as common issues and, if so, how these issues should be efficiently and fairly addressed within the review process.

The Commission determined that the claims regarding casual and part-time employment proposed by the ACTU are appropriately classified as 'common issues'. This classification relates to the procedural aspect of how these issues are to be heard and determined, rather than any assumption that the variations, if granted, would apply uniformly across all or most modern awards. The claims made by employer organizations, which tend to be specific to particular industries or sectors, were not considered as common issues. The Commission also decided that all matters relating to casual and part-time employment should be dealt with by a single Full Bench to ensure efficiency and consistency. This Full Bench, the Casual and Part-time Employment Full Bench, will manage these claims, including those raised during the award stage. Additionally, the Commission resolved that other proposed common issues, such as the small business schedule, domestic violence leave, and payroll-related matters, would be dealt with differently, either as common issues or during the award stage, based on the nature and scope of the claims.

The Commission's final orders include the classification of certain issues as common issues, the referral of these issues to the Casual and Part-time Employment Full Bench, and the scheduling of preliminary hearings for specific claims. The Commission will continue to consider and determine these issues in a manner that ensures all relevant parties have an opportunity to present their views and that the review process is conducted fairly and efficiently.