Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee, , 1:45:47 to 1:51:52
Details on the interdepartmental task force co-led by DEWR and AGD, including staffing levels, governance, and initial stakeholder consultations.
Topics: Workplace relations, Public service staffing
Speakers: Elizabeth Brayshaw, Speaker 16, Simon Duggan, Greg Manning
Um I understand there's an interdepartmental task force, and excuse me if I've missed detail that you've already covered on this, uh, that's overseeing the establishment of the court. Which department is that task force based out of the case of the case.
Is it Senator? This is a joint task force between this department and the Attorney General's department. Uh leading the task force is Ms. Brayshaw.
Oh, Senator, uh so in terms of the task force um we we're established in early August, uh, and so we have officials from both this department and the Attorney General's department. And uh together we are working on um undertaking uh engagement with the courts and the the Fairwork Commission, Fairwork Ombudsman, but also consultations um with key stakeholders, uh design and poly policy advice uh and advice to government more generally. So that's the the work of the task force that's been set up.
How many people are on that task?
Uh Senator, there's currently 13 staff in the department uh that are working on it, and then there's also staff from Attorney Generals as well.
So thirteen from your department from general additional group. Yeah, and do you have terms of reference or objectives or Senator?
In terms of our governance arrangements, we report to a band three steering committee? Which to what? Sorry, uh a deputy secretary steering committee. And in terms of terms of reference, I would say that uh the terms of reference is we've been established to support the development of the Fair Work Court to deliver a streamlined workplace dispute resolution system that's accessible, efficient, and easy to navigate for workers and employers. And that that overarching principle and objective was um developed uh between our Secretary and the Attorney General's Secretary. Uh and then I was about to mention we also uh have a steering committee at the deputy's level that we um it provides strategic oversight and advice as needed. It includes it's co-chaired by Mr. Manning and uh the Deputy Secretary and Attorney General's Department, and we also have representatives from Prime Minister and Cabinet, Treasury and Finance, and also uh the representatives of the federal courts and the Fair Work Commission are part of that, and so that provides that senior level engagement and of course um we keep our secretaries updated and ministers. So that's kind of the general structure and and very much that overarching principle or objective is for us to support the development of that court to achieve those objectives.
How are you drawing on I'm old enough to remember um the court before it was abolished in 1997, and I know there's a lot of expertise out there in the academic world, uh historians and current practitioners who will have reflections? How are you reaching into that academic uh community and those with historical experience?
I think that is something that we uh um have on our list of engagements. We do you want to talk to academic academics and those that have been involved in the experience of courts? We've also um had access to the annual reports of the former industrial relations court, and I think those reports um you know provide some insights into their priorities and their approach of what they were set up to establish. Um and they've been helpful, but there's more that we um will be doing in the coming months.
Uh what um consultations have you had underway? Where are you at on consultation?
Senator, in terms of consultations, we've had a series of initial consultations that we undertook with Attorney General's Department uh as the task force, and um we had those in early September. So we've met with um union representatives, uh employer organisations, including small business representatives. Uh so um Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Australian Industry Group, Cosboa, and the like. And we've also met with the courts, as I've mentioned. Those were initial consultations uh following the announcement uh and covered sort of gave them an update about the uh about the role of the task force, but also touched on issues around jurisdiction to seek views about structure of the court scope of jurisdiction. Court would sit within the WR system and other institutions such as the Fair Work Commission. I think there was different views and mixed views, but I would say that there was an interest in ensuring that the design has a focus on that user experience for both employees and employers and gives people that clear pathway about how to resolve matters and promotes resolution of matters.
Have you got any reflections so far about the kind of experience that will be appropriate for appointments to the court?
Senator, the government in terms of reflections, I think it's important that I think the reflections we received is about a merits-based process is important. That having qualified candidates who bring experience as a legal experience, but also workplace relations experience. That's probably the extent of the reflections from those initial conversations. But certainly that's my question.
Sorry, we in the Attorney Generals, I imagine, in relation to judges, how how it will apply to meet that aim of ensuring that expertise in workplace relations.
Okay. Thank you. That's all my questions.