The FWC has ordered compensation but declined to reinstate 24 DP World wharfies sacked in 2021 for refusing to be vaccinated against COVID-19, finding that although the dismissal process was bungled, the workers "significantly contributed" to the situation.
The FWC has published a digital database of the 2008-09 award modernisation process, comprising thousands of searchable documents making up what then Workplace Relations Minister Julia Gillard described as a "historic reform" of Australia's awards system.
In a case highlighting the many tripwires involved in remote working arrangements, the FWC has upheld the sacking of a Bureau of Meteorology scientist who fell off the radar after an overseas holiday.
DEWR is expecting 85,000 "regular casual" workers to seek conversion to permanency in each of the first five years after the passage of the Closing Loopholes Part Two Bill's casual employment provisions, and half that number beyond that point.
FWC President Adam Hatcher has ordered a paid IR agent to attend a conference to resolve a worker's complaint that he ended up out of pocket after settling an adverse action case his representative sought to discontinue without his express approval.
The FWC will in March hear ABC arguments that radio presenter Antoinette Lattouf's claim that the broadcaster unlawfully sacked her over an Instagram post critical of Israel's war in Gaza cannot proceed because of her casual engagement and reliance on the wrong provision of the Fair Work Act.
A performance statement by FWC president Adam Hatcher has hailed the tribunal's "successful implementation" of workplace law changes wrought by the Secure Jobs Act, which contributed to a 13% rise in the Commission's workload in the second half of last year.
DP World has told a Senate hearing into the remaining Loopholes measures that the stevedoring industry should be shielded from protracted bargaining conflicts, warning that multi-employer bargaining could cripple ports.
A FWC presidential member has stayed payment of $10,000 to an unfairly sacked worker after going beyond an employer's appeal grounds to identify potential flaws in calculation of the compensation.
The FWC has refused to grant Ventia an intractable bargaining declaration it sought after workers at outsourced Defence aviation firefighting operations in Queensland rejected its unilateral offer, in the tribunal's first contested IBD case determined by a single member.
