2019

Number of copies of applications and related documents

20 December 2019

From the commencement of the law term (3 February 2020) all parties will be required to comply with Industrial Relations Commission Rules 2009;

Rule 2.6 states:

Copies to be filed.

Unless the Registrar otherwise directs, documents filed in proceedings before the Commission must include the following:

Types of proceedings	Number of copies
General application	original plus one copy (unless the form otherwise requires)
Application for award, contract determination or enterprise agreement	original plus two copies
Application for relief from unfair dismissal	original plus two copies
Dispute notification	original only
Prosecution	original plus one copies
Appeals	original plus three copies
Matters before a full bench	original plus three copies (unless it is known that there are more than three members of the bench, in which case, the same number of copies as there are members of the bench)

Note: you will also need a copy for yourself and, if the document has to be served on other parties, enough copies to serve each party plus an additional copy to attach to an affidavit of service.

Failure to comply with the rule may see the Registrar refer a case to a Commissioner for possible remedies under the Civil Procedure Act due to a lack of compliance.

Retirement of the inaugural Chief Commissioner of the Industrial Relations Commission

22 November 2019

The Industrial Relations Commission thanks Chief Commissioner Peter Kite SC for his service and dedication to the State of New South Wales and the Commission during his period as an Acting Justice of the Industrial Court of NSW and as the first Chief Commissioner of the Industrial Relations Commission.

Commissioner Nichola Constant is the Acting Chief Commissioner commencing 22 November 2019, as the Chief Commissioner proceeds on a period of leave prior to his retirement on 20 December 2019.

Christmas Closure

18 October 2019

The Industrial Relations Commission will have its final sitting on Friday 20 December 2019 and recommence listings on Monday 6 January 2020.

During the period above the registry will be closed but for urgent matters the Commission provides an after hours contact service:

for those parties who have a serious industrial dispute which can not wait
when parties have initiated strike action and the urgent intervention of the IRC is required.

After hours emergency number: 0401 142 429.

Notice of application for registration as an industrial organisation of employees

14 October 2019

Industrial Relations Act 1996

The organisation named below has applied for registration as an industrial organisation under the Act. Any person who objects to the registration of this organisation/association may lodge a notice of that objection setting out with reasonable particularity the ground or grounds of the objection and the facts and circumstances relied on as establishing those grounds. Such notice of objection must be verified by statutory declaration and lodged with the Industrial Registrar, PO Box 927 Parramatta 2150 within 28 days. A copy of the notice of objection must be served on the applicant for registration by the objector within 7 days of lodgement of notice of objection with the Industrial Registrar.

Applicant

Independent Education Union of Australia NSW/ACT Branch.

Implementation of the IRC Social Media Policy

17 January 2020

As we move into an age of social media the Industrial Relations Commission will be implementing a policy around the use of social media when communicating with the Commission.

The social media policy will commence Monday 20 January 2020 and is available at (IRC Social Media Policy). This policy seeks to ensure that all users are treated with dignity and respect.

New Practice Note for Public Sector Disciplinary Appeals

9 October 2019

Effective 28 October 2019 the new public sector disciplinary appeal practice note will take effect.

From that date only the newly implemented form will be accepted for filing so please take some time to familiarise yourself with the practice note and the associated forms.

As part of the implementation of the new practice note parties will no longer be able to file the appeal or associated documents via email, documents will need to be lodged in person at the IRC, via post or at a NSW Local Court.

Ceremonial Sitting of the IRC – Retirement of Chief Commissioner Kite

8 October 2019

Chief Commissioner Kite will reach the statutory retirement age on 4 December 2019 and will commence leave from 22 November 2019.

There will be a ceremonial sitting of the Industrial Relations Commission at 9.30am on Wednesday 20 November 2019 in Court 12D, Level 12, Law Courts Building (Supreme Court) with refreshments to follow in the Alexander Dawson Room to mark the retirement of Chief Commissioner Kite.

Chief Commissioner Kite was appointed as Chief Commissioner on 3 April 2017, having previously been an Acting Judge of the Industrial Court. Chief Commissioner Kite has served the Industrial Relations Commission with distinction for the past 2 and half years. Chief Commissioner Kite was appointed during a period of change for the Industrial Relations Commission and with his leadership there have been a number of significant outcomes achieved both for the Commission itself and industrial relations in this state.

The ceremonial sitting will also be live streamed on the Department of Communities and Justice YouTube channel.

Annual Report 2018

27 August 2019

Following the tabling of the annual report for 2018 with the State Government, the Annual Report is now available from the Annual Reports page of this website.

Appeal Blocks for 2020

22 August 2019

Chief Commissioner Kite as designated the following periods as appeal blocks for 2020.

9–13 March
15–19 June
7–11 September
16–20 November.

Notice of Cancellation of the Registration of the Association of Principals of Independent Schools of NSW under the Industrial Relations Act 1996

16 August 2019

Take notice: on 6 August 2018 His Honour Justice Rothman of the Supreme Court of New South Wales cancelled the registration of the Association of Principals of Independent Schools of NSW as a State industrial organisation.

IRC Fee increase to be implemented

15 August 2019

From 16 August 2019 the fees for applications and miscellaneous items will be increased in line with the Industrial Relations (General) Amendment (Fees) Regulation 2019.

Industrial Relations (General) Amendment (Fees) Regulation 2019

Notice of Cancellation of the Registration of the Real Estate Employers Federation under the Industrial Relations Act 1996

18 July 2019

Take notice: on 18 June 2019 His Honour Justice Button of the Supreme Court of New South Wales cancelled the registration of the Real Estate Employers Federation as a State industrial organisation.

Remuneration limit for Unfair Dismissal cases increase

28 June 2019

From 1 July 2019 the remuneration limit for unfair dismissal applications will be raised to $148,700.

Queen's Birthday Honours List

21 June 2019

The Industrial Relations Commission congratulates The Honourable Justice Monika Schmidt, former judge of the NSW Industrial Court and Industrial Relations Commission and present Supreme Court Judge for her inclusion in the Queen's Birthday Honours List. The Honourable Justice Schmidt received a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for significant service to the law, to the judiciary and to industrial relations.

State Wage Case 2019

5 June 2019

The State Wage case is to be listed on 16 July 2019 at 10.00am for directions.

All interested parties should attend and submit a notice of appearance for each of the matters.

Section 19 Award Review 2019

21 May 2019

The Commission is commencing the 2018 Award Review process as prescribed by Section 19 of the Industrial Relations Act 1996.

To facilitate this process the Commission has issued Practice Note No. 13 which provides the procedures for parties to the Award Review process.

For all current awards in the list of awards to be reviewed in 2019, the process that the Registry has followed is:

Notices of Award Review have been issued to the parties to the awards eligible for review.
A copy of Practice Note No. 13 is attached to each Notice.
Awards have been listed for call-over at the date, time and place specified on the Notice and on the list.
The call-over dates are set for four days – 22, 23 and 24 July 2019.

In brief, Practice Note No. 13 requires the parties to:

file and serve on all other parties a list of all changes proposed to the Award
this should be a list of all specific changes except where substantial changes are proposed; where substantial changes are proposed the list may refer to the subject areas of change
this includes a situation where it is considered that the award is obsolete and should be rescinded
file a Notice of Appearance.

[the above steps have to be taken at least one week before the call-over date]

confer with all other parties on any proposed changes prior to the call-over date so that all parties are in a position to advise at call-over

[this should occur no later than during the week before the call-over date]

What will happen at call-over?

where there are no issues or matters that require attention in respect of the Award the matter will be marked as "Award Reviewed" [proceedings finalised]
where the Award is obsolete the matter will be marked "Award Obsolete" [proceedings finalised]
where there are issues or matters that require attention in respect of the Award such directions as are necessary will be made and the file will be either retained or referred to another Member of the Commission for finalisation.

The Commission expects that all parties to the Award Review Process will complywith Practice Note No. 13 and thereby ensure that at the call-overs any issues are clearly identified to facilitate future proceedings.

The principles of the Award Review process have been defined by the Full Bench of the Commission in Principles for Review of Awards - State Decision 1998 and Poultry Industry Preparation (State) Award and Other Awards, Re [2003]

Filing locations and information

22 February 2019

I am seeking to clarify where documents can be filed and methods documents can be accepted for our common documents.

All IRC documents can be filed at any NSW Local Court (Central Local Court exempt), if you are filing at Downing Centre please file documents at the civil registry.

The locations of NSW Local Courts can be found at: localcourt.nsw.gov.au

Please see the table below to assist you in knowing which method you can file some of our most common documents.

Type of application	Method of accepted filing
Unfair dismissal application * if urgent, requires notice of motion and affidavit of urgency.	In person, post, local court
Employers reply	In person, post, local court, email, fax
Public Sector Disciplinary appeal	In person, post, local court
Public Sector Disciplinary Appeal – written case (for conciliation)	In person, post, local court,
s173 and s181D Police Act applications	In person, post, local court
Award Applications (including variation)	In person, post, local court
Statements/Affidavit (for cases being listed for arbitration)	In person, post, local court (we need the original signed document)
Notice of appearance/Change of solicitor	In person, post, local court, email, fax
Notice of Discontinuance	In person, post, local court, email, fax
s130 dispute notification	In person, post, local court, email, fax (in extenuating over the phone)
Notice of Motion (and supporting affidavit)	In person, post, local court
Notice of appeal/leave to appeal	In person, post, local court
Summons to give evidence/produce documents	In person, post, fax, email.

Official Opening of the Industrial Relations Commission premises

21 January 2019

Chief Commissioner Kite and the Members of the Industrial Relations Commission welcome you to attend the official opening of the new premises at Parramatta on Tuesday 5 February at 9.30am.

Our new address is level 10, 10 Smith Street Parramatta 2150.

The ceremonial sitting of the Industrial Relations Commission can be seen on youtube.com.

Official opening of new premises

4 January 2019

The Chief Commissioner and Commissioners of the Industrial Relations Commission invite legal representatives, stakeholders, practitioners and other users to attend the ceremonial sitting and official opening of the new premises for the Industrial Relations Commission at level 10, 10-14 Smith Street Parramatta 2150 on Tuesday 5 February 2019.

Additional details to follow shortly.