Australian Industrial Relations Commission
AIRC
1 March 1989 – 1 January 2010
National industrial relations tribunal that conciliated and arbitrated industrial disputes, made and varied federal awards, set safety-net wages until 2006, certified agreements and dealt with unfair dismissal claims.
How it came into existence
Established on 1 March 1989 by the Industrial Relations Act 1988, replacing the Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Commission and taking over its jurisdiction and members.
- Industrial matters of airline flight crew officers
Legislation: Industrial Relations Act 1988 (renamed the Workplace Relations Act 1996)
Changes during its life
- 1996The Workplace Relations and Other Legislation Amendment Act 1996 renamed the Industrial Relations Act 1988 the Workplace Relations Act 1996 and limited awards to allowable matters.
- 27 March 2006The Work Choices amendments removed its minimum wage-setting role (to the Australian Fair Pay Commission) and its role in certifying agreements, largely confining it to dispute resolution.
- Industrial disputes and awards in the black coal mining industry
- Setting federal minimum and award wages (safety net reviews)
- Conciliation and arbitration of workplace disputes
- Award making and variation
- Unfair dismissal claims
The AIRC continued until the end of 2009 to finish transitional matters.
How it ended
Fair Work Australia took over its functions from 1 July 2009 under the Fair Work Act 2009; the Commission continued only to finish transitional matters and was abolished at the end of 2009.
Main functions
- Conciliation and arbitration of industrial disputes
- Making and varying federal awards
- National wage and safety net reviews (until 2006)
- Certifying collective agreements
- Unfair dismissal conciliation and arbitration
- Coal industry disputes (from 1995)
Where it sits
Last in the portfolio of Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.
Lineage
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