Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke has told a ceremony to welcome Justice Adam Hatcher as FWC President that appointing him is probably the least controversial thing he has done, while others described him as respectful, formidable and forensically-minded, with a dry sense of humour.
The UFU's Victorian branch has won the first round of Federal Court proceedings in which it alleges a senior State Labor minister engaged in coercive conduct while intervening in a case before the FWC.
Public Service Minister Katy Gallagher has paid tribute to outgoing Public Service Commissioner Peter Woolcott, who has announced that he will retire when his five-year term ends.
Long-serving MUA national secretary Paddy Crumlin is facing a rank-and-file challenger in the union's quadrennial elections, which will also have contested polls for State leadership positions in Queensland and Victoria.
A court has penalised an experienced HR manager held to have humiliated a worker by speaking only to her husband about whether she was quitting and seizing on the first chance to get rid of her to avoid a bullying and harassment case, while the employer faces a near-$100,000 payout.
A university's failure to properly consult with an employee over its COVID-19 vaccination mandate did not make the direction unreasonable, the FWC has found.
As the FWC prepares for the Secure Jobs's bargaining and industrial action components to start on June 6, it has signalled that it plans to devote a substantial amount of members' time to the new mandatory pre-industrial-action conferences to try to facilitate agreements and will expect a similar commitment from parties.
The FWC has granted an 18-day extension for a bin-hire worker to challenge her alleged sacking in light of evidence that her job loss left her homeless and that her limited technological skills scuttled several attempts to use her mobile phone to file her application.
The ACTU says it would be "offensive" not to heed new Fair Work Act gender equality and secure work objectives that significantly boost the case for a bigger lift to the minimum wage and award rates given the over-representation of award-reliant women in low-paid, insecure jobs.