Mediation under a Commonwealth Enterprise Agreement

Overview

Parties to an employment dispute whose employment arrangements are covered by the provisions of the Commonwealth Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) can also seek the services of the Commission to resolve their dispute.

The Commission can provide a dispute resolution process to parties who are covered by a Commonwealth enterprise agreement if:

• a party is bound by a Commonwealth enterprise agreement that allows the Commission to conduct a dispute resolution process under dispute settlement procedures set out in the agreement, or;
• there are no dispute resolution procedures in the enterprise agreement and the parties agree to have dispute resolution conducted by the Commission.

Representation

The terms of the enterprise agreement may determine whether you can be represented.

To appoint a representative, the party seeking to be represented must file a Form M2 - Appointment of a Representative.

Process

Step 1 - Lodgement: A party to an employment dispute may refer it to the Commission by filing a Form 1 - Application to conduct dispute resolution process. You can lodge the form in the Registry of the Commission in person, by email or by post. There is no fee for filing the form.

Step 2 - Mediation conference: After lodging a referral agreement, the Commission will contact you to arrange a mediation conference. The Commissioner will consider the case from both sides and can help the parties make a genuine effort to resolve their employment dispute. There can be one or more conferences as necessary.

Possible outcomes

If an agreement is reached, the Commissioner may register it as a mediation settlement agreement, which is binding on all the parties and can be enforced under the Industrial Relations Act 1979 (WA).

According to the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), if the parties have agreed to the Commission’s arbitration, the Commission may do so.