The Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC) was a federal tribunal that was established under the Industrial Relations Act 1988 [Cth] to prevent and settle industrial disputes by conciliation and arbitration, and to exercise any other functions conferred on it by other legislation.
This tribunal was succeeded by Fair Work Australia, which was subsequently renamed the Fair Work Commission (FWC).
The FWC’s functions include:
- setting minimum wages
- creating and changing modern awards
- approving enterprise agreements, and
- acting as the independent umpire in disputes, including unfair dismissal claims.
Employees can approach the FWC if they believe they have been:
- unfairly dismissed
- discriminated against, victimised or unfairly treated under the provisions of the Fair Work Act, or
- bullied at work and want an order to prevent that from happening.
The FWC does NOT handle complaints about wages, superannuation, or workplace health and safety. Each of these matters is handled by other government agencies.
