Dismissals and the Federal Conciliation and Arbitration System

One area in which the rights of Australian workers have lagged behind their counterparts in other western democracies is that of protection against unfair dismissal. The common law action for breach of the contract of employment has, of course, been open to employees in common law countries including Australia but recognition of the inadequacy of this procedure has led to the introduction of statutory protection against dismissal in a number of common law jurisdictions including the United Kingdom. While some of the Australian States have sought to legislate in this area the protection available at federal level has, at least until recently, been inadequate.This paper will explore the background to the federal dismissals jurisdiction in Australia and the recent developments which have extended the protection against unfair dismissal available within the Australian Conciliation and Arbitration system. At federal level, a dual system of redress for unfair dismissal has developed.