The Industrial Relations Court of NSW returns

1 July 2024

The Industrial Court of New South Wales was formally re-constituted this morning at a historic ceremony in Queens Square, Sydney.

Justice Ingmar Taylor was sworn-in as President of the Industrial Relations Commission, with Justice David Chin and Justice Jane Paingakulam sworn-in as Vice-President and Deputy President respectively. The three new judicial officers will sit as the Industrial Court and serve as judicial members of the Industrial Relations Commission.

The Industrial Relations Commission is one of the oldest judicial institutions in the State of New South Wales, and one of the oldest continuing industrial tribunals in the world. It can trace its origins to the Industrial Arbitration Act 1901, and first sat as the Court of Arbitration of NSW on 30 April 1902. The first substantive hearing, concerning a dispute about terms and conditions of engagement of labour on the Newcastle wharves, was heard in that city commencing on 19 May 1902.[1] The Commission has delivered landmark decisions affecting the pay and working conditions of workers, including the Sawmillers Case in 1905, which helped to establish the principle of a minimum living wage.

In the intervening 122 years the Industrial Relations Commission has been through numerous iterations, including the Court of Industrial Arbitration, the Industrial Boards, and the Board of Trade. In 2016 the judicial functions of the IRC were transferred to the Supreme Court of NSW.

The re-establishment of the Industrial Court is one of a number of changes introduced by the Industrial Relations Amendment Act 2023. The Court is a superior court of record with equivalent status to the Supreme Court and the Land and Environment Court and will once again resolve disputes over work health and safety matters, registration of industrial organisations, as well as conciliation and arbitration of wage claims for public sector workers.

The Commission has sat in many locations around the city of Sydney, including in Hyde Park Barracks. President Taylor and the other judges will sit at the historic Chief Secretary’s Building at 47 Bridge Street.

1. Chief Commissioner Kite SC, Speech delivered at the ceremonial sitting of the Industrial Relations Commission of NSW to mark the occasion of its move to Parramatta (PDF, 95.2 KB), 5 February 2019 – (1902) 1 AR 1.