Industrial Referral Agreements Act 1986 (SA)

South Australia

Industrial Referral Agreements Act 1986

An Act to make provision with respect to the resolution of certain disputes; and for other purposes.

Contents

1Short title

2Interpretation

3Referral of matter to SAET by agreement

4Regulations

Legislative history

The Parliament of South Australia enacts as follows:

1—Short title

This Act may be cited as the Industrial Referral Agreements Act 1986.

2—Interpretation

A word or expression used in this Act that is the subject of a definition under section 4 of the Fair Work Act 1994 when used in that Act will have the same meaning in this Act as it has in that Act.

3—Referral of matter to SAET by agreement

(1)This section applies to an industrial matter or an industrial dispute if 2 or more parties have entered into an agreement in writing (a referral agreement) to seek the assistance of SAET by making a referral to SAET in order to obtain (as the case may be)—

(a)the resolution of an industrial matter arising between the parties (including by making a determination about levels of remuneration, conditions of employment or other industrial matters);

(b)the resolution of an industrial dispute between the parties (including by settling a dispute about whether appropriate remuneration has been paid to a person under a contract of employment or whether there has been a breach of a condition of employment);

(c)the resolution of the question whether, on the balance of probabilities, the dismissal of an employee was harsh, unjust or unreasonable.

(2)A referral agreement may relate to a particular matter or dispute, or to matters or disputes of a specified class.

(3)The parties to a referral agreement may be—

(a)an employer, or group of employers;

(b)an employee, or group of employees;

(c)a registered association;

(d)the United Trades and Labor Council.

(4)The parties to a referral agreement may agree that SAET is—

(a)to act as a conciliator, mediator or arbitrator;

(b)to make recommendations to the parties;

(c)to make determinations or orders that the parties agree to accept or observe,

as specified in the referral agreement.

(5)A party seeking the assistance of SAET under a referral agreement will do so in accordance with the rules.

(6)On a referral under this Act, SAET has and may perform or exercise such functions or powers with respect to the matter as SAET might exercise in the exercise of its jurisdiction under section 7 of the Fair Work Act 1994, subject to any limitation or exclusion specified in the referral agreement and not so as to give any form of relief outside the referral agreement.

(7)The regulations may make provision for or with respect to the application of the provisions of the Fair Work Act 1994 and the South Australian Employment Tribunal Act 2014 (with such modifications, if any, as may be prescribed by the regulations) to the performance or exercise of functions or powers under this Act.

(9)Subject to any regulations made for the purposes of subsection (7), rules of SAET may be made in connection with the practice and procedure of SAET in the performance or exercise of functions or powers conferred by referral agreements.

(10)A determination, order or other decision of SAET on a referral under this Act—

(a)is binding on the parties to the referral agreements; and

(b)may be enforced under the Fair Work Act 1994 in the same way as a determination, order or other decision of SAET to the same effect.

(12)SAET may, in acting under this Act, make any determination as to the scope or operation of the relevant referral agreement, or as to the meaning of any provision of the referral agreement, and any such determination will then have effect according to its terms.

(13)SAET may, at any time after a matter or dispute has been referred to SAET under this Act, determine to take no action on the referral, or to suspend or discontinue any action on the referral, if SAET considers or is satisfied that—

(a)the matter or dispute should be determined in some other manner; or

(b)proceedings that relate to the subject matter of the referral have been commenced under the Fair Work Act 1994, or before some other body or person; or

(c)there is some other reasonable cause that justifies a decision not to proceed, or to suspend or discontinue any action under this section,

(and such a determination will have effect according to its terms).

(14)The following provisions apply in connection with the application of Part 5 of the South Australian Employment Tribunal Act 2014 in relation to a determination under this section:

(a)if the referral agreement provides that a determination will be final and conclusive, the determination will not be subject to review or appeal under Part 5 of the South Australian Employment Tribunal Act 2014;

(b)if an application for review or appeal under Part 5 of the South Australian Employment Tribunal Act 2014 is made, the determination will be taken to be part of the referral to SAET under the referral agreement.

(15)If an application is made, it will be taken to be part of the referral to SAET under the referral agreement.

(16)The functions and powers conferred on SAET by or under this Act are in addition to, and do not derogate from, any other function or power of SAET under the Fair Work Act 1994 and the South Australian Employment Tribunal Act 2014.

(17)A referral agreement may be amended from time to time by agreement between the parties to the referral agreement.

(18)Once a referral has been made a party cannot withdraw from the referral agreement without the agreement in writing of the other party or parties to the agreement.

4—Regulations

The Governor may make such regulations as are contemplated by this Act, or as are necessary or expedient for the purposes of this Act.

Legislative history

Notes

•Please note—References in the legislation to other legislation or instruments or to titles of bodies or offices are not automatically updated as part of the program for the revision and publication of legislation and therefore may be obsolete.

•Earlier versions of this Act (historical versions) are listed at the end of the legislative history.

•For further information relating to the Act and subordinate legislation made under the Act see the Index of South Australian Statutes or Arbitration Act 1986

Commercial Arbitration and Industrial Referral Agreements Act 1986

Legislation repealed by principal Act

The Industrial Referral Agreements Act 1986 repealed the following:

Arbitration Act 1891

Legislation amended by principal Act

The Industrial Referral Agreements Act 1986 amended the following:

Local and District Criminal Courts Act 1926

Supreme Court Act 1935

Principal Act and amendments

New entries appear in bold.

Year	No	Title	Assent	Commencement
1986	102	Commercial Arbitration Act 1986	18.12.1986	9.7.1987 (Gazette 9.7.1987 p57)
1992	64	Commercial Arbitration (Uniform Provisions) Amendment Act 1992	12.11.1992	1.1.1993 (Gazette 17.12.1992 p2192)
2006	17	Statutes Amendment (New Rules of Civil Procedure) Act 2006	6.7.2006	Pt 16 (ss 54—61)—4.9.2006 (Gazette 17.8.2006 p2831)
2006	41	Statutes Amendment (Public Sector Employment) Act 2006	14.12.2006	Pt 8 (ss 25—27)—1.4.2007 (Gazette 29.3.2007 p930)
2009	77	Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2009	10.12.2009	Sch 1 (cl 3)—10.12.2011 (s 7(5) Acts Interpretation Act 1915)
2011	32	Commercial Arbitration Act 2011	22.9.2011	Sch 1 (cll 1—7)—1.1.2012 (Gazette 15.12.2011 p4986)
2016	63	Statutes Amendment (South Australian Employment Tribunal) Act 2016	8.12.2016	Pt 11 (ss 108 & 109)—1.7.2017 (Gazette 16.5.2017 p1221)

Provisions amended

New entries appear in bold.

Entries that relate to provisions that have been deleted appear in italics.

Provision	How varied	Commencement
Long title	amended under Legislation Revision and Publication Act 2002	4.9.2006
amended by 32/2011 Sch 1 cl 2	1.1.2012
Pt 1
heading	deleted by 32/2011 Sch 1 cl 7	1.1.2012
s 1	amended by 41/2006 s 25	1.4.2007
amended by 32/2011 Sch 1 cl 3	1.1.2012
s 2	omitted under Legislation Revision and Publication Act 2002	4.9.2006
s 2	Sch 1 cl 1 redesignated as s 2 by 32/2011 Sch 1 cl 6(5)	1.1.2012
s 2(1)	cl 1(1) amended by 32/2011 Sch 1 cl 6(1)	1.1.2012
s 2(2)	cl 1(2) deleted by 32/2011 Sch 1 cl 6(4)	1.1.2012
s 3 before deletion by 32/2011
s 3(1)	omitted under Legislation Revision and Publication Act 2002	4.9.2006
s 3(6)	substituted by 17/2006 s 54	4.9.2006
s 3(7)	inserted by 17/2006 s 54	4.9.2006
amended by 41/2006 s 26(1)	1.4.2007
s 3(8) and (9)	inserted by 41/2006 s 26(2)	1.4.2007
s 3(9a)	inserted by 77/2009 Sch 1 cl 3	10.12.2011
s 3(10)	inserted by 41/2006 s 26(2)	1.4.2007
s 3	deleted by 32/2011 Sch 1 cl 4	1.1.2012
s 3	Sch 1 cl 2 redesignated as s 3 by 32/2001 Sch 1 cl 6(5)	1.1.2012
s 3(1)	cl 2(1) amended by 32/2011 Sch 1 cl 6(2)	1.1.2012
amended by 63/2016 s 108(1)	1.7.2017
s 3(4) and (5)	amended by 63/2016 s 108(1)	1.7.2017
s 3(6)	cl 2(6) amended by 32/2011 Sch 1 cl 6(1)	1.1.2012
amended by 63/2016 s 108(1), (2)	1.7.2017
s 3(7)	cl 2(7) amended by 32/2011 Sch 1 cl 6(1)	1.1.2012
amended by 63/2016 s 108(3)	1.7.2017
s 3(8)	cl 2(8) amended by 32/2011 Sch 1 cl 6(3)	1.1.2012
deleted by 63/2016 s 108(4)	1.7.2017
s 3(9)	cl 2(9) amended by 32/2011 Sch 1 cl 6(3)	1.1.2012
amended by 63/2016 s 108(1), (5)	1.7.2017
s 3(10)	cl 2(10) amended by 32/2011 Sch 1 cl 6(1)	1.1.2012
amended by 63/2016 s 108(1), (6)	1.7.2017
s 3(11)	cl 2(11) amended by 32/2011 Sch 1 cl 6(3)	1.1.2012
deleted by 63/2016 s 108(7)	1.7.2017
s 3(12)	cl 2(12) amended by 32/2011 Sch 1 cl 6(1)	1.1.2012
amended by 63/2016 s 108(8)	1.7.2017
s 3(13)	cl 2(13) amended by 32/2011 Sch 1 cl 6(1)	1.1.2012
amended by 63/2016 s 108(1), (8)	1.7.2017
s 3(14)	substituted by 63/2016 s 108(9)	1.7.2017
s 3(15)	amended by 63/2016 s 108(1), (10)	1.7.2017
s 3(16)	cl 2(16) amended by 32/2011 Sch 1 cl 6(1)	1.1.2012
amended by 63/2016 s 108(1), (11)	1.7.2017
s 4 before deletion by 32/2011
s 4(1)	s 4 redesignated as s 4(1) by 64/1992 s 3(d)	1.1.1993
the Court	amended by 17/2006 s 55	4.9.2006
domestic arbitration agreement	deleted by 64/1992 s 3(a)	1.1.1993
international arbitration agreement	deleted by 64/1992 s 3(b)	1.1.1993
prescribed arbitration agreement	deleted by 64/1992 s 3(c)	1.1.1993
s 4(2)	inserted by 64/1992 s 3(d)	1.1.1993
s 4	deleted by 32/2011 Sch 1 cl 4	1.1.2012
s 4	s 57 redesignated as s 4 by 32/2011 Sch 1 cl 5	1.1.2012
s 5	deleted by 32/2011 Sch 1 cl 4	1.1.2012
Pt 2
heading	deleted by 32/2011 Sch 1 cl 7	1.1.2012
s 6	substituted by 64/1992 s 4	1.1.1993
deleted by 32/2011 Sch 1 cl 4	1.1.2012
ss 7—10	deleted by 32/2011 Sch 1 cl 4	1.1.2012
s 11	substituted by 64/1992 s 5	1.1.1993
deleted by 32/2011 Sch 1 cl 4	1.1.2012
ss 12 and 13	deleted by 32/2011 Sch 1 cl 4	1.1.2012
Pt 3
heading	deleted by 32/2011 Sch 1 cl 7	1.1.2012
ss 14—16	deleted by 32/2011 Sch 1 cl 4	1.1.2012
s 17 before deletion by 32/2011
s 17(1)	substituted by 64/1992 s 6	1.1.1993
s 17	deleted by 32/2011 Sch 1 cl 4	1.1.2012
s 18 before deletion by 32/2011
s 18(2)	amended by 64/1992 s 7	1.1.1993
s 18	deleted by 32/2011 Sch 1 cl 4	1.1.2012
s 19 before deletion by 32/2011
s 19(3)	amended by 64/1992 s 8	1.1.1993
s 19	deleted by 32/2011 Sch 1 cl 4	1.1.2012
s 20	substituted by 64/1992 s 9	1.1.1993
deleted by 32/2011 Sch 1 cl 4	1.1.2012
s 21	amended by 64/1992 s 10	1.1.1993
deleted by 32/2011 Sch 1 cl 4	1.1.2012
ss 22—25	deleted by 32/2011 Sch 1 cl 4	1.1.2012
ss 26 and 27	substituted by 64/1992 s 11	1.1.1993
deleted by 32/2011 Sch 1 cl 4	1.1.2012
Pt 4
heading	deleted by 32/2011 Sch 1 cl 7	1.1.2012
ss 28—30	deleted by 32/2011 Sch 1 cl 4	1.1.2012
s 31 before deletion by 32/2011
s 31(1)	amended by 64/1992 s 12(a), (b)	1.1.1993
s 31(2)	substituted by 64/1992 s 12(c)	1.1.1993
s 31(3) and (4)	inserted by 64/1992 s 12(c)	1.1.1993
s 31	deleted by 32/2011 Sch 1 cl 4	1.1.2012
s 32 before deletion by 32/2011
s 32(1)	amended by 64/1992 s 13	1.1.1993
s 32	deleted by 32/2011 Sch 1 cl 4	1.1.2012
s 33	amended by 17/2006 s 56(1), (2)	4.9.2006
deleted by 32/2011 Sch 1 cl 4	1.1.2012
s 34 before deletion by 32/2011
s 34(3)	substituted by 64/1992 s 14(a)	1.1.1993
s 34(5)	amended by 64/1992 s 14(b)	1.1.1993
s 34(6)	substituted by 64/1992 s 14(c)	1.1.1993
ss 34—37	deleted by 32/2011 Sch 1 cl 4	1.1.2012
Pt 5
heading	deleted by 32/2011 Sch 1 cl 7	1.1.2012
s 38 before deletion by 32/2011
s 38(4)	amended by 64/1992 s 15(a)	1.1.1993
amended by 17/2006 s 57(1)	4.9.2006
s 38(5)	substituted by 64/1992 s 15(b)	1.1.1993
amended by 17/2006 s 57(2)	4.9.2006
s 38(6)	substituted by 64/1992 s 15(b)	1.1.1993
amended by 17/2006 s 57(3)	4.9.2006
s 38(7)	substituted by 64/1992 s 15(b)	1.1.1993
s 38(8)	deleted by 64/1992 s 15(b)	1.1.1993
s 38	deleted by 32/2011 Sch 1 cl 4	1.1.2012
s 39 before deletion by 32/2011
s 39(2)	amended by 17/2006 s 58	4.9.2006
s 39(3) and (4)	deleted by 64/1992 s 16	1.1.1993
s 39	deleted by 32/2011 Sch 1 cl 4	1.1.2012
s 40 before deletion by 32/2011
s 40(1)	amended by 64/1992 s 17(a)	1.1.1993
amended by 17/2006 s 59	4.9.2006
s 40(6)	substituted by 64/1992 s 17(b)	1.1.1993
s 40(7)	inserted by 64/1992 s 17(b)	1.1.1993
ss 40—45	deleted by 32/2011 Sch 1 cl 4	1.1.2012
s 46 before deletion by 32/2011
s 46(1)	amended by 64/1992 s 18(a)	1.1.1993
s 46(3)	substituted by 64/1992 s 18(b)	1.1.1993
ss 46—49	deleted by 32/2011 Sch 1 cl 4	1.1.2012
Pt 6
heading	deleted by 32/2011 Sch 1 cl 7	1.1.2012
ss 50—52	deleted by 32/2011 Sch 1 cl 4	1.1.2012
s 53 before deletion by 32/2011
s 53(1)	amended by 64/1992 s 19(a), (b)	1.1.1993
amended by 17/2006 s 60(1)	4.9.2006
s 53(2)	amended by 64/1992 s 19(c)	1.1.1993
amended by 17/2006 s 60(2)	4.9.2006
s 53(3)	substituted by 64/1992 s 19(d)	1.1.1993
s 53(4)	deleted by 64/1992 s 19(d)	1.1.1993
s 53	deleted by 32/2011 Sch 1 cl 4	1.1.2012
s 54	substituted by 64/1992 s 20	1.1.1993
deleted by 32/2011 Sch 1 cl 4	1.1.2012
s 55	substituted by 64/1992 s 21	1.1.1993
deleted by 32/2011 Sch 1 cl 4	1.1.2012
Pt 7
heading	deleted by 32/2011 Sch 1 cl 7	1.1.2012
s 56	deleted by 32/2011 Sch 1 cl 4	1.1.2012
s 57—see s 4
Sch	omitted under Legislation Revision and Publication Act 2002	4.9.2006
Sch 1	inserted by 41/2006 s 27	1.4.2007
heading	deleted by 32/2011 Sch 1 cl 7	1.1.2012
cll 1 and 2—see ss 2 and 3

Transitional etc provisions associated with Act or amendments

Commercial Arbitration (Uniform Provisions) Amendment Act 1992

22—Transitional provisions

(1)Subject to this section, the amendments made by this Act apply in relation to an arbitration agreement (whenever made) and an arbitration under such an agreement.

(2)The amendment made by section 9 of this Act does not apply in relation to arbitration proceedings that were commenced before the commencement of the amendment.

(3)Section 26 of the principal Act as in force before the commencement of this Act continues to apply in relation to—

(a)an order made under that section before that commencement; or

(b)an application pending under that section immediately before that commencement.

Statutes Amendment (South Australian Employment Tribunal) Act 2016

109—Transitional provisions

(1)In this section—

principal Act means the Industrial Referral Agreements Act 1986;

relevant day means the day on which this Part comes into operation;

Tribunal means the South Australian Employment Tribunal.

(2)A decision, direction, determination or order of the Industrial Relations Commission of South Australia under the principal Act in force immediately before the relevant day will, on and from the relevant day, be taken to be a decision, direction, determination or order of the Tribunal.

(3)A right to take action with respect to any matter in existence before the relevant day, with the effect that the relevant proceedings would have been commenced before the Industrial Relations Commission of South Australia under the principal Act, will be exercised as if this Part had been in operation before the right arose, so that the relevant proceedings may be commenced instead before the Tribunal.

(4)Any proceedings before the Industrial Relations Commission of South Australia under the principal Act immediately before the relevant day will, subject to such directions as the President of the Tribunal thinks fit, be transferred to the Tribunal where they may proceed as if they had been commenced before that Tribunal.

(5)The Tribunal may—

(a)receive in evidence any transcript of evidence in proceedings before the Industrial Relations Commission, and draw any conclusions of fact from that evidence that appear proper; and

(b)adopt any findings or determinations of the Industrial Relations Commission that may be relevant to proceedings before the Tribunal; and

(c)adopt or make any decision (including a decision in the nature of a determination), direction or order in relation to proceedings before the Industrial Relations Commission before the relevant day (including so as to make a decision or determination, or a direction or order, in relation to proceedings fully heard before the relevant day); and

(d)take other steps to promote or ensure the smoothest possible transition from 1 jurisdiction to another in connection with the operation of this section.

Historical versions

Reprint No 1—1.1.1993

4.9.2006

1.4.2007

10.12.2011

1.1.2012