Centralised Administration

    The facts:
  • Fair Work Australia (FWA) will be the new “one stop shop” in the Federal industrial relations system.
  • The roles currently performed by a number of bodies including the Workplace Authority and the Australian Industrial Relations Commission will be performed by FWA.


The Bill creates a central empire, Fair Work Australia (FWA), for ensuring compliance with provisions of the Bill once they come into operation and for dealing with disputes and advice. 

FWA will be separated into a number of divisions and will perform a myriad of functions which are currently undertaken by the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC), the Workplace Authority, the ABCC and the Workplace Ombudsman among others.  These functions will include dealing with inspection and compliance, advisory services, unfair dismissal claims, disputes, modern awards and the approval and registration of enterprise agreements.

There will be a Fair Work Ombudsman to whom employees will be able to make complaints in relation to wages and conditions.  The powers of the inspectors of the Ombudsman’s office will be increased under the Bill. Inspectors will have the power to issue Compliance Notices (instead of Breach Notices) which, once issued, will only be reviewable by a court.

When suspected breaches are brought to an employer’s attention by the inspectors, employers have the option to make written undertakings which if not complied with can be enforced by court order.

FWA will also be designed to work as an advisory service to both employers and employees to assist them in understanding their rights, entitlements and obligations under the law and in particular the National Employment Standards.

It will also have an arm which will in many respects mirror the current role played by the AIRC. This arm will mediate and arbitrate on unfair dismissal claims, industrial disputes and other applications available under the Bill.

FWA will have the discretion to decide whether lawyers and paid agents have standing to make applications and submissions on behalf of employers and employees in relation to any matter. When deciding whether permission is given, FWA will have regard to whether the involvement of lawyers and paid agents would enable the matter to be dealt with more efficiently, taking into account the complexity of the matter and fairness to the persons involved.