Case note : Construction, Forestry, Mining And Energy Union v Australian Industrial Relations Commission : the AIRC and the exercise of private arbitral power

[1] The joint judgment of the Full Bench of the High Court of Australia in Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union v Australian Industrial Relations Commission (‘CFMEU’) determines the powers and role of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (‘the Commission’) in arbitrating and mediating certain industrial disputes. The case discusses the operation of a Certified Agreement under the Industrial Relations Act 1988 (Cth) (‘IR Act’) and its successor, the Workplace Relations Act 1996 (‘WR Act’). In particular, the High Court clarifies the powers that the Commission exercises when acting as an arbitrator under a Certified Agreement created pursuant to the IR Act. [2] Although the decision re-establishes a broad role for the Commission in workplace dispute resolution, it simultaneously alters its significance in an increasingly de-centralised wage system.