Page 2683 - Week 09 - Thursday, 8 August 2013
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Importantly, the Magistrates Court will also be known as the industrial court when it is constituted by a magistrate assigned by the Chief Magistrate to hear a matter in circumstances where a perception of bias might arise if the industrial court magistrate were to hear a particular matter. An example of where a perception of bias may arise would be in circumstances where the industrial court magistrate has heard a prosecution for a breach of work health and safety regulations and is subsequently asked to hear a worker’s compensation case out of the same incident or set of facts. Another example would be where the industrial court magistrate oversaw a coronial inquiry and made a recommendation to prosecute and subsequently made a decision in the prosecution case.
Building on the flexibility of the Chief Magistrate to manage the workload of the new court, there is also provision for the Chief Magistrate to assign another magistrate to deal with a matter if she is satisfied it is in the interests of justice to do so. The assignment provisions will complement the way matters are already being managed and dealt with in our courts.
As with other matters in the Magistrates Court, the Chief Magistrate will be responsible for allocating the business of the industrial court and ensuring the orderly and prompt discharge of the business of the court. It will be the responsibility of the Chief Magistrate in consultation with the other magistrates to declare an existing magistrate to be the industrial magistrate for a term of not longer than four years. The term of office of four years will give time for the magistrate so appointed to become familiar with the complexities of this area of law, assist in achieving more consistency in decision making and application of penalties and deliver better outcomes for all litigants.
There is also provision for the industrial court to refer civil matters to the Supreme Court where the parties jointly apply to have a matter removed where one party applies to have a matter removed and the court considers it appropriate or on the court’s own initiative.
I will now turn to the jurisdiction of the court. The industrial court will have a jurisdiction to hear and determine proceedings under legislation falling within my portfolio as Minister for Workplace Safety and Industrial Relations, with the exception of the Annual Leave Act 1973 and the Truck Act 1900. Both these acts have been repealed because they have been superseded by the commonwealth Fair Work Act 2009. The Holidays Act and the Standard Time and Summer Time Act have also been excluded, as they do not contain any matters that require legal dispute resolution. The two long service leave acts have also been removed from the jurisdiction of the new court so it can focus its attention directly on criminal work safety matters and civil compensation matters and build on its specialisation in this regard.
Industrial and work safety matters coming before the new court for determination will be exactly the same as the current industrial workload of the Magistrates Court. For example, the new court will have jurisdiction to hear criminal work health and safety matters and civil workers compensation claims, including arbitrations, both statutory and common law.
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