Activities outside the Commission

A number of Commission Members hold appointments and positions in addition to their appointments to the Commission.

Justice Ross is a Judge of the Federal Court of Australia and an Adjunct Professor, Discipline of Work and Organisational Studies at the University of Sydney Business School.

Vice President Catanzariti is Chair of the College of Law Board of Directors; an Adjunct Associate Professor, Discipline of Work; Vice Chair of the LGBTI Committee of the International Bar Association and Organisational Studies at the University of Sydney Business School; and a Visiting Professorial Fellow of the School of Law and Faculty of Law, University of New South Wales (UNSW).

Senior Deputy President Hamberger is Vice President of the Committee of the Industrial Relations Society of New South Wales.

Deputy President Sams is Co-convenor of Advocacy in the Industrial Relations Tribunals course, run in conjunction with the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) Centre for Management and Organisation Studies and the Industrial Relations Society of New South Wales.

Deputy President Booth is a member of the Advisory Board to the Discipline of Work and Organisational Studies at the University of Sydney Business School.

Deputy President Asbury is the President of the Defence Force Remuneration Tribunal and the Chairperson of the Northern Territory Police Arbitral Tribunal.

Deputy President Binet is the Vice President of the Industrial Relations Society of Western Australia; Committee Member of the Royal Perth Hospital Ethics Committee; a Chartered Member of the Australian Human Resources Institute and a member of the Board of Theatre 180.

Deputy President Clancy served as the honorary Chairperson of the Frederick Richard O’Connell Scholarship Committee.

Deputy President Dean is a member of the Law Society of New South Wales and a member of the Resolution Institute and is Chairperson of the Alpine School.

Deputy President Anderson is a member of the Australian Labour and Employment Relations Association of South Australia.

Deputy President Beaumont is Chair of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Remuneration Tribunal; and a member of the National Judicial College of Australia, Australasian Institute of Judicial Administration Inc. and the UN Women NC Australia.

Deputy President Saunders is a committee member of the Industrial Relations Society of New South Wales (Newcastle branch); and a member of the Industry Advisory Committee, Employment Relations and Human Resource Management Disciplinary Group, University of Newcastle; and a member of the Newcastle Law School Advisory Board, University of Newcastle.

Deputy President Boyce is a member of the Industrial Relations Society of New South Wales.

Commissioner Spencer is Chairperson of the Northern Territory Correctional Officers Arbitral Tribunal and Deputy Chairperson of the Northern Territory Police Arbitral Tribunal; and a Life Member of the Industrial Relations Society Queensland (IRSQ).

Commissioner Hampton is a member of the Australian Labour and Employment Relations Association; the Australian Labour and Employment Relations Association (South Australia); the Australian Labour Law Association; the Council of Australasian Tribunals (South Australia); the International Association on Workplace Bullying and Harassment; and Resolution Australia.

Commissioner Bissett is a conciliator to the Northern Territory Police Arbitral Tribunal.

Commissioner Lee is a member of the Tasmanian Industrial Commission; and on the Melbourne Law School Centre for Employment and Labour Relations Law Advisory Board.

Commissioner Johns was until May 2019 Chairman of the Australian Ballet School; and is Vice President of the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School Council and Treasurer of the Industrial Relations Society of New South Wales (IRSNSW).

Commissioner Wilson is a member of the Tasmanian Industrial Commission.

Commissioner Cirkovic is a member of the Industrial Relations Society of Victoria; the Australian Association of Women Judges; and the Tasmanian Industrial Commission.

Commissioner Platt is a member of the Industrial Relations Society of South Australia.

Commissioner Harper-Greenwell is a member of the Industrial Relations Society of Victoria, and the International Association on Workplace Bullying and Harassment; and is a Professional Member of Resolution Australia.

Commissioner Hunt is a member of the Industrial Relations Society of Queensland.

Presentations and speaking engagements

Throughout the reporting period, Commission Members participated in a range of Commission-related domestic engagement, international engagement and professional development activities.

Justice Ross delivered a number of presentations during the reporting period. In September 2018, he presented at the Gender Pay Symposium, discussing what is meant by the gender pay gap and how it has moved over time. In October 2018, he attended the Australian Labour and Employment Relations Association conference, discussing the economic and social changes that are likely to impact the future of work and the workforce. The Council of Australasian Tribunals (COAT, Victorian Chapter) conference was held in November 2018 where Justice Ross presented on behavioural insights, and shared ideas about its application in the court and tribunal context. In February 2019, he presented at an Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry event on ‘Addressing the future and measuring what matters – global megatrends’. The COAT national conference was held in June 2019 and Justice Ross discussed behavioural economics and the potential to help tribunals become more efficient and to benefit the people who use our services.

Vice President Hatcher delivered two presentations during the reporting period and addressed the NSW Law Society in December 2018 and spoke at the Industrial Relations Society of NSW Conference in May 2019.

Vice President Catanzariti delivered the keynote address at the Legalwise Seminar Workplace Conference in September 2018 on recent changes and developments at the Commission. In February 2019 he delivered a presentation at the City of Sydney Law Society seminar on updates from the Commission. He also provided the opening remarks at the UNSW Centre for Continuing Legal Education – Employment Law seminar on updates from the Commission in March 2019. In June 2019, the Vice President delivered a presentation at an Australian Industry Group forum in Canberra on the topic Lightening the Load, as well as a presentation at the Australian Human Resources Institute Darwin State Conference on updates from the Commission.

Senior Deputy President Hamberger delivered keynote addresses at the Thomson Reuters Mental Health and Employment Law Conferences in October 2018 and in May 2019. He also presented on workplace conflict resolution to the Sydney Business School in March 2019 and Saint Vincent de Paul Society in April 2019. He also helped to facilitate workshops on enterprise bargaining in October 2018 and preventing and resolving bullying claims in June 2019 in conjunction with the Industrial Relations Society of NSW.

Deputy President Hamilton delivered opening remarks at an employment law seminar hosted by the UNSW Centre for Continuing Legal Education in July 2018. He delivered a paper entitled ‘Practical aspects of the Fair Work Commission’s jurisdiction and the Australian employment safety net’ to the Australian Law Librarians Association’s 9th Biennial Conference at the Gold Coast in November 2018.

Deputy President Sams delivered a briefing in October 2018 about workplace harassment to students at Macquarie University, and another to students from Notre Dame University about the role and powers of the Commission. In February 2019, he delivered advocacy training to Legal Aid NSW lawyers and presented updates from the Commission at the Konnect Learning conference. He delivered a CPD session to the NSW Young Lawyers Environmental and Planning Law Committee on practice management and the structure and operations of the Commission in March 2019. During the same month he gave a briefing on the role and functions of the Commission to Year 12 Business Studies students from Oxley High School. In May 2019, he gave a lecture at the UTS Business School in May 2019 about the role and powers of the Commission. The Deputy President is a regular guest lecturer in the University of Sydney and University of New South Wales.

Deputy President Booth spoke at the National Disability Service Purpose and People Network Meeting at International House, Melbourne University in July 2018. In September 2018, she addressed senior industrial relations and human resources managers from Downer Group at a dinner. In September 2018, she addressed a group of students from the Wentworth Institute and gave a briefing about the Commission to HR managers from Woolworths in October 2018. She also assisted in an unfair dismissal mock trial run by the University of Sydney Business School. She attended the Australian Labour and Employment Relations Association (ALERA) conference at the Barossa Valley in October 2018 and received an award ‘In Recognition of Service to Employment Relations’. In November 2018, she hosted New Approaches workshops for employers and unions in Melbourne and Sydney. She also assisted in the combined Workplace Advisory Service and Macquarie University New Approaches Case Study video launch in during the same month. In February 2019, she delivered a presentation to Martin Hehir (Deputy Secretary of the then Department of Jobs and Small Business). Further presentations to other delegations of the Department of Jobs and Small Business occurred in March 2019 and May 2019. Deputy President Booth presented an Industrial Relations Society (IRS) Seminar at K&L Gates in February 2019. She assisted in the Capstone Case Study Development Workshop for the Discipline of Work and Organisational Studies at the University of Sydney Business School in April 2019 and addressed the FCB Group Breakfast Panel Discussion in May 2019. In June 2019, she co-facilitated, with Senior Deputy President Hamberger, a workshop on preventing and resolving bullying in conjunction with IRSNSW. She gave a presentation to administrative staff at Federal Court about the Commission in June 2019. In June 2019, the Deputy President presided over a mock trial for the Advocacy in Industrial Relations Tribunals course run by UTS.

Deputy President Asbury was the chair of a panel discussion of Fair Work Commission and Queensland Industrial Relations Commission Members at the Queensland Industrial Relations Society Conference in September 2018. In October 2018, she participated in a mock hearing of an unfair dismissal scenario facilitated by the Commission. She delivered a presentation to the Australian Labour Law Association about the evolving work of the Commission and the rise of individual versus collective disputes in November 2018. In May 2019, the Deputy President delivered a presentation and participated in a panel discussion on ‘Overcoming the workplace bully at the Women in Design and Construction’ event in Brisbane.

Deputy President Gostencnik conducted a series of moots with candidates for specialist accreditation as part of the Law Institute’s Workplace Relations Specialist accreditation program In July 2018. In August 2018, he conducted an advocacy workshop for the Industrial Relations Society of Victoria as part of its advocacy training program. In March 2019, he presided over a mock arbitration hearing as part of an advocacy course run by the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU). In the same month he gave a presentation on enterprise agreement making as part of the ACTU & VTHC CPD Conference. The Deputy President delivered an information session on advocacy before the Commission in May 2019, as a part of Law Week.

Deputy President Kovacic delivered a keynote address at the Thomson Reuters Mental Health & Employment Law Conference in May 2019.

Deputy President Bull delivered a presentation to students about the role and powers of the Commission in March 2019.

Deputy President Binet spoke at the Women in Industrial Relations event hosted by Ashurst in September 2018. She presented at a DLA Piper seminar on the topic of enterprise bargaining in October 2018; and in November she spoke at the Industrial Relations Society of Western Australia State Convention about the gig economy. In January 2019, she delivered a presentation on Alternative Dispute Resolution in Workplace Relations to the Piddington Society. In May 2019, the Deputy President delivered a keynote address at the Thomson Reuters Mental Health & Employment Law Conference.

Deputy President Clancy gave a briefing to a Deakin University Law Clinic about the role of lawyers and the Commission in September 2018. In May 2019, he delivered an information session on making and responding to unfair dismissal applications as a part of Law Week.

Deputy President Anderson delivered a presentation on ‘The International Labour Organisation’s Global Work’ to the Australian Labour and Employment Relations Association of South Australia in August 2018. In September 2018, he delivered a presentation to postgraduate students of Transnational Labour Law at Monash University on International Labour Relations. In October 2018, he presented a Fair Work Commission Mock Appeal Hearing to the National Conference of the Australian Labour and Employment Relations Association of Australia; and in May 2019 he gave a Commission Update presentation to an Industrial Relations Masterclass of the Australian Human Resources Institute (SA Branch).

Deputy President Beaumont assisted the Industrial Relations Society of WA in presiding over its moots for an industrial advocacy course in late 2018. In October 2018, she delivered a presentation to UnionsWA at its Industrial Officers and Lawyers Network Conference on the topic of modern awards and the 4 yearly review. In February 2019, she participated in a panel session discussion at Minter Ellison about the future of enterprise bargaining. She also delivered a presentation to the Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA Workplace Relations Conference in April 2019 about enterprise bargaining and presided over a mock unfair dismissal arbitration. The Deputy President also attended a three-day professional development course facilitated by the National Judicial College of Australia.

In May 2019, Deputy President Saunders gave a presentation to members and guests of the Industrial Relations Society of New South Wales (Newcastle branch) in relation to appearing in unfair dismissal proceedings in the Fair Work Commission.

Deputy President Boyce was a presenter at the Advocacy in the Industrial Relations Tribunals course, run in conjunction with the UTS Centre for Management and Organisation Studies and the Industrial Relations Society of NSW in June 2019.

Deputy President Cross briefed a group of Year 12 Economics students from Oxley High School about the Fair Work Commission in March 2019. He presided over a moot as part of the Advocacy in Industrial Relations Tribunals Course hosted by UTS and the Industrial Relations Society of NSW In June 2019.

Commissioner Spencer presented at the IRSQ – Advocacy Skills Course in January 2019. In April 2019, she provided an Employment relations update at LGIASuper. In May 2019, she presented at the HR: FCB Workplace law and the IRSQ Education Series. In June 2019, Commissioner Spencer presented at the Employee Relations Conference at Downer.

Commissioner Williams presided over an ACTU Mock Hearing in July 2018.

In August 2018, Commissioner Hampton presented at the Australasian Association of Workplace Investigators (Annual Conference, Kingscliff, NSW) ‘What every investigator should know about the FWC’s Anti-Bullying Jurisdiction’. The ALERA SA State Convention was held in October 2018 and he presented sessions on the Commission appeals process and the determinative conference process. In October 2018, he participated in an interview with the University of WA PhD students to give an oversight of the Commission’s anti-bullying jurisdiction. The Commissioner was also a guest on HR Breakfast Club Podcast to discuss ‘Responding to anti-bullying applications’ in June 2019.

Commissioner Bissett gave a briefing about the role and powers of the Commission to Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) members taking part in the Anna Stewart Memorial Program in October 2018. In January 2019, she gave a briefing to law students from the Australian Catholic University as part of a JobWatch intensive course. The Commissioner delivered an information session on making and defending unfair dismissal applications in May 2019 as a part of Law Week.

Commissioner Simpson delivered a presentation about the line between employment and the private domain to Clubs Australia Industrial in August 2018. In March 2019, he delivered a presentation to members of the ER/IR Network Forum affiliated with the Australian Human Resources Institute (AHRI), on the subject of appearing at the Commission.

Commissioner Lee participated in a Skype interview in September 2018 with the NZ Employment Relations Authority as a part of the Barriers to Participation Symposium. He delivered keynote addresses at the Thomson Reuters Mental Health & Employment Law Conferences in October 2018 and April 2019. In March 2019, he delivered a presentation on enterprise agreements at the National Public Sector IR Directors Conference. As a part of Law Week he delivered an information session on making compliant agreement applications. The Commissioner also gave a presentation on common issues arising in applications to approve enterprise agreements to the Australian Public Service Commission in April 2019 and the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation’s Industrial Committee in June 2019.

Commissioner Booth delivered keynote addresses at the Thomson Reuters Mental Health & Employment Law Conferences in October 2018 and May 2019. She also gave a briefing to a group of HR managers from Woolworths in December 2018 about the role and powers of the Commission.

Commissioner Gregory gave a briefing about the role and powers of the Commission to interns from the RTBU in both July 2018 and February 2019. He also gave a presentation in October 2018 to representatives from migrant and refugee communities for the WEstjustice Train the Trainer program. In November 2018, he presented at the Australian Government Legal Network conference on the Commission’s Access to Justice Programs – Workplace Advice Service, Out of Hours Pilot and General Protections Referral Service. In May 2019, he gave a briefing to Year 11 students from Timboon P12 School on the role and functions of the Commission. In June 2019, the Commissioner gave two sets of presentations to delegates from the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) on dispute resolution, and the role and processes of the Commission.

Commissioner Wilson delivered an information session on Advocacy before the Commission in May 2019 as a part of Law Week.

Commissioner Platt attended the National ALERA Conference in October 2018 and presented (in conjunction with DP Anderson and Commissioner Hampton) a practical session on the conduct of determinative conferences and appeals. In November 2018, the Commissioner attended the National Australian Law Librarians’ Association Conference at the Gold Coast.

Commissioner Hunt delivered a presentation to the Queensland Hotels Association in August 2018 about trends and the state of law in relation to enterprise agreement approvals and terminations after the nominal expiry date. She gave a presentation to the Queensland Hotels Association in August 2018; was on a panel of FWC and Queensland Industrial Relations Commission members in September 2018 to the Industrial Relations Society of Queensland; spoke at a Downer Group function in October 2018; and in May 2019 delivered a presentation to the Minter Ellison Workplace Open Day.

Commissioner McKinnon delivered a briefing about the role and powers of the Commission to a group from the AMWU in July 2018; and to Health Science students from RMIT and to a group of HR Managers from Woolworths, both in September 2018. She delivered an information session on making compliant agreement applications in May 2019 as a part of Law Week. In February 2019, she presented at the ACTU and the Victorian Trades Hall Council CPD conference ‘The do’s and don’ts of tribunal advocacy – appearing before and interacting with tribunal members and staff’. In May 2019, the Commissioner gave the same presentation in the Australian Industry Group Professional Development Series.

International engagement and professional development activities

Vice President Catanzariti met in July 2018 with a 12-person Vietnam Government delegation from the Ministry of Labour – Invalids and Social Affairs regarding the operation and work of the Commission and the social and policy impact assessments for new laws. In September 2018, Vice President Catanzariti met with a Deputy Chairman from the Labour Court of Ireland to discuss the role of the Fair Work Commission.

Deputy President Booth together with Commissioner McKenna met in November 2018 with a delegation of six officers from the All-China Women’s Federation. The purpose of the visit was to share Australian legislation and effective practice of workplace gender equality, and conflict resolution. The delegates were hosted by the Australian Human Rights Commission as part of the Australia–China Human Rights Technical Cooperation Program.

Deputy President Kovacic met with the Political Deputy Minister and other representatives of Taiwan’s Civil Service Protection and Training Commission in November 2018 to discuss the composition of the Commission, the Australian workplace relations system and the rights of Australian Public Service employees in accessing the services of the Commission. In November 2018, he met with the Deputy Chief Executive for the Labour, Science and Enterprise Group of the NZ Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment to discuss the genesis and operation of the Commission, its current role and policy and operational context. In March 2019, Deputy President Kovacic met a three-person delegation headed by the Permanent Secretary from the Singapore Ministry of Manpower who were visiting Canberra for the Australia–Singapore Public Service Roundtable and wanted to learn more about the administration of Australia’s modern award system.

Deputy President Clancy met in November 2018 with a delegation of 12 senior government leaders of the Central Organizing Commission, Project 165, Vietnam to discuss the Commission’s jurisdiction. The visit was arranged by the RMIT College of Business as a part of its Public Administration and Public Policy training program.