By Invitation Only: The Role of the AIRC in Private Arbitration
Australian Journal of Labour Law, Vol. 18, No. 1, pp. 53-77, 2005
Monash U. Department of Business Law & Taxation Research Paper
32 Pages Posted: 25 May 2011 Last revised: 30 Aug 2013
Date Written: April 1, 2005
Abstract
One of the principal objectives of the Workplace Relations Act 1996 (Cth) is to ensure that the primary responsibility for determining industrial relations outcomes rests with employers and employees. At the time of introducing the legislation, the Coalition Government made it clear that a related goal of the Act was to reduce the intervention of third parties in this primary relationship. However, in one of the commission’s most significant areas of growth, the parties are increasingly inviting the commission to resolve disputes through private arbitration. This article explores the role of the commission in private arbitration in light of the objectives of the legislation. In particular, the article outlines the growth of private arbitration in practice and the development of the commission’s role in private arbitration through the decisions of the High Court and the commission.
Keywords: employment tribunal, arbitration, workplace relations
JEL Classification: J50, K31
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation