First published on Tuesday, November 28, 2023
Last updated on Wednesday, June 4, 2025
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Under the Fair Work Act 2009, the Fair Work Commission acts as an independent employment tribunal and plays a crucial role in administering and enforcing the FW Act. The purpose of this organisation is to work for the benefit of Australia’s workforce, assisting employees and employers in maintaining fair and productive workplaces.
The Fair Work Commission has a number of roles and responsibilities as the independent national workplace relations tribunal. Read on to understand how it affects the running of your Australian business.
What is the Fair Work Commission?
The Fair Work Commission (FWC) is Australia’s national workplace relations tribunal. It's an independent body with the power to carry out a range of functions relating to employment.
Its functions include enforcing required minimum wages and employment conditions, assisting in enterprise bargaining, industrial action, dispute resolution, termination of employment, and a variety of other workplace matters.
The Fair Work Commission, as an independent body, is able to operate in a similar way to a court. It can hear claims and disputes which are related to the workplace and deliver binding decisions which must be adhered to. The primary objective and responsibility of FWC is to assist employees and employers in maintaining fair and productive workplaces.
Who is covered by the National Workplace Relations System?
While the Act covers most employees in Australia, it's supplemented by other federal, state and territory laws.
For example, Western Australia maintains its own state-based workplace relations system that partially covers the private sector in that state. It's necessary to know what workplace relations system covers your business and your employees, to determine what legislation applies.
You are likely to be covered by the national workplace relations system if you:
Work for a constitutional corporation
Work in Victoria (except if you are a law enforcement officer or an executive in the public sector), the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) or the Northern Territory (NT) (except if you are a member of the Police Force)
Work in the private sector in New South Wales (NSW), Queensland, or South Australia (SA)
Work in the private sector or local government sector in Tasmania
The regulatory powers
The Fair Work Ombudsman and the Fair Work Commission (previously called Fair Work Australia) are independent Australian government organisations established by the Fair Work Act that regulate Australia’s national workplace relations system. The Ombudsman educates employers and employees and enforces compliance with the Fair Work legislation.
As one of the most important regulatory bodies involved in employment conditions in Australia, let's talk about the Fair Work Commission.
What is the role of the Fair Work Commission?
The Fair Work Commission has a number of roles and responsibilities as the independent national workplace relations tribunal.
Some of the FWC's key responsibilities include:
Setting the national minimum wages
Creating and changing modern awards
Approving enterprise agreements
Acting as the independent moderator in disputes including unfair dismissal and adverse action
Resolving disputes under awards, enterprise agreements/other registered agreements, or the National Employment Standards (NES)
The Fair Work Commission is also able to determine award coverage for employees.
If a dismissal is deemed to be unfair, they can determine a reinstatement of the job, or even financial compensation depending on the particular circumstance. However, for a determination of this nature to take place, an employee must lodge an application form, as well as stipulate their reasoning.
Workers may believe they have been:
Discriminated against, victimised, or unfairly treated under the provisions of the Fair Work Act
Bullied at work and want an order to prevent that from occurring
After the application has been completed and submitted by the employee, the FWC will assess the application, and send documents to the employer with the request for a response to the claims. This is the beginning of the mediation process with the next steps being dependent on the employer’s response and the severity of the claim.
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