The "unprecedented" AI-driven rise in the FWC's caseload has now pushed average clearance rates up from less than four weeks to more than six weeks, and while the Commission is taking action to respond, it concedes it would be easier to "catch the wind" than to curb the technology.
An academic says employers' use of multi-functional AI systems without including HR and workers in decision-making is handing power to algorithms, tech vendors and IT teams, creating far-reaching "unintended consequences".
Speakers at an IR conference have emphasised the importance of early, transparent consultations when introducing automation and AI-related change, but a lawyer says locking into a formal process too soon is risky.
In new guidance on the use of generative AI, the Federal Court sets out obligations for practitioners, and warns that breaches can lead to adverse costs orders.
Existing AI technologies could boost labour productivity growth in Australia to levels last seen in the late 1990s and early 2000s, according to a leading AI developer.
A senior FWC member has told an employer he would "welcome" a costs application after rejecting an AI-assisted general protections bid in which a worker relied on "incoherent" legal arguments and falsehoods to reframe his resignation as a constructive dismissal.
An "obstinate" worker's "barrage" of lengthy AI-generated "dense, repetitive and often rambling" emails and refusal to accept that his employer had resolved his complaints warranted his dismissal, the FWC has ruled.
Employment law experts are urging employers to tread carefully in dealing with workers' increasing use of AI to make flexibility requests, respond to investigations and lodge complaints.
Now is the time to consider the effects of introducing humanoid robots into the workforce, taking heed of the gaps the AI transition has exposed and minimising the detrimental impact on workers, an academic says.
The NSW Minns Labor Government is closer to winning passage of controversial Workers Compensation amendments designed to rein in claims for psychological injuries, along with a bill making it easier for unions to inspect employers' digital work systems.
