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The 2023–24 financial year was one of the busiest years on record for the Fair Work Commission, receiving the most lodgements in a single year since the 2009 inception of the Fair Work Act.
According to the Fair Work Commission’s (FWC) annual report, the most recent financial year was “one of the busiest years on record”, with the highest rate of lodgements ever received by the commission.
In FY23–24, the commission received 40,190 lodgements, 39,196 of which were finalised, representing a clearance rate of 95.7 per cent. Moreover, 82 per cent of the applications made were finalised within eight weeks of lodgement.
The volume of applications made in the last year represents, FWC wrote, a 27 per cent increase on the previous reporting period.
It is thus notable that the commission achieved such a high clearance rate, particularly against the backdrop of legislative and regulatory changes it had to grapple with in FY23–24, including, but not limited to, new family and domestic violence protections, changes to compulsory conciliation conferences in protected action ballot matters, the transition from multi-enterprise agreements, and regulated labour hire arrangements.
Of the more than 40,000 lodgements made with FWC in the last financial year, 14,772 (37 per cent) were unfair dismissal claims. The only other two lodgement types with more than 5,000 applications were general protections involving dismissal and support wage system agreements.
There were also 987 lodgements about workplace bullying and sexual harassment, for an average of 19 such claims per week in the last financial year across the country.
In his introduction to the annual report, FWC president Justice Adam Hatcher said: “The commission’s ability to accommodate [a] dramatic increase in workload, implement major legislative reforms, and simultaneously continue to meet our operational objectives is a considerable achievement. It is a reflection of the skill and dedication of our members and staff and our commitment to the timely, efficient, and transparent administration of justice.”
“It has been a historic year of change and challenge, and there is undoubtedly more to come. I look forward to continuing to work with and for the workplace relations community to implement these changes.”
