Amended industrial relations laws tested by Commission

Recent amendments to the Industrial Relations Act 1999 (Qld), which commenced on 12 June 2012, were tested for the first time in the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission (QIRC) the following month.

The requirements for taking protected industrial action in connection with a proposed certified agreement were amended to mirror provisions in the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth).

The amendments significantly changed the requirements for taking industrial action by requiring it be authorised by protected action ballot and stipulating the conditions for authorisation. A notice for industrial action must include the nature of the intended action and the start date.

The Queensland Teachers Union of Employees (QTU) and Department of Justice and Attorney-General employees were the first groups to apply for protected action ballots for industrial action.

The amendments also give the Attorney-General powers similar to those under Commonwealth laws to make declarations terminating industrial action if it is threatening to damage the Queensland economy or the community’s safety and welfare.

In relation to QIRC’s discretion to determine public sector wages, as a result of the amendments QIRC is now required to consider the:

  • State’s financial position
  • State’s fiscal strategy
  • financial position of the relevant public sector entity, and
  • the likely effects of a determination on the economy and the community.

QTU application

On 9 July 2012, QTU filed an application in which it asked QIRC to issue an order for a protected action ballot under s 176 and schedule 4 of the Act.

At the hearing before QIRC on 11 July, the Department of Education, Training and Employment (DETE) opposed QTU’s application on the grounds that QTU had authorised industrial action by its members in relation to the proposed roll-out of the State Government’s Independent Public Schools program and DETE’s Teaching and Learning audit program. Other grounds for the application were lack of specificity in the proposed question to be put to members in the ballot process and the period of notice that QTU would be required to provide to DETE (under s 176(6)(b)) before taking industrial action if the proposed ballot was approved.

Deputy President Bloomfield ruled that QTU’s application was separate and distinct from QTU’s alleged involvement in authorising unprotected industrial action and should be heard and determined expeditiously. He also ruled that DETE’s concerns about QTU’s alleged involvement in unauthorised industrial action would be the subject of separate proceedings, as a result of its notification of dispute to QIRC early on the morning of 11 July.

DP Bloomfield then proceeded to hear QTU’s submissions in support of its application for a protected industrial action ballot and DETE’s opposition to certain elements of the application.

DP Bloomfield ultimately refused QTU’s application for a protected action ballot order on the basis that the proposed question to be put to the employees to be balloted did not include sufficient description to enable employees to identify 'the nature' of the proposed industrial action on which they were being asked to vote.

Consequently, DP Bloomfield was not satisfied that the application met the requirements of schedule 4 – s 3 (3)(b) of the Act.

Together Queensland application

Following an initial unsuccessful application, Together Queensland filed two applications on 11 July 2012 requesting QIRC to issue separate orders for protected action ballots at the Brisbane Youth Detention Centre and Cleveland Youth Detention Centre (Townsville).

DP Bloomfield found that all the requirements of schedule 4 of the Act had been satisfied and issued a protection action ballot order for each youth detention centre.


The information in this publication is provided for general purposes only. It is not to be relied on as a substitute for legal advice. Crown Law and the Department of Justice and Attorney-General accept no liability for losses caused by reliance on the material in this publication. Formal legal advice should be obtained for particular matters.

Published: 10 September 2012

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