The ''Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1904'' (Cth) was an Act of the

Parliament of Australia The Parliament of Australia (officially the Parliament of the Commonwealth and also known as the Federal Parliament) is the federal legislature of Australia. It consists of three elements: the Monarchy of Australia, monarch of Australia (repr ...

, which established the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration, besides other things, and sought to introduce the rule of law in

industrial relations Industrial relations or employment relations is the multidisciplinary academic field that studies the employment relationship; that is, the complex interrelations between employers and employees, labor union, labor/trade unions, employer organ ...

in Australia. The Act received

royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in othe ...

on 15 December 1904. The Act applied to industrial disputes “extending beyond the limits of any one State, including disputes in relation to employment upon State railways, or to employment in industries carried on by or under the control of the Commonwealth or a State or any public authority constituted under the Commonwealth or a State”. The Act was amended many times and was superseded by the ''Industrial Relations Act 1988'' and was repealed by the ''Industrial Relations (Consequential Provisions) Act 1988'' with effect on 1 March 1989. The ''Industrial Relations Act 1988'' was itself replaced by the '' Workplace Relations Act 1996''.

Background

Constitutional basis

The Commonwealth’s power to make the law is based on section 51(xxxv) of the Constitution, which gives the Commonwealth power to make laws "in relation to

conciliation Conciliation is an alternative dispute resolution process whereby the parties to a dispute rely on a neutral third-party known as the conciliator, to assist them in solving their dispute. The conciliator, who may meet with the parties both sep ...

and

arbitration Arbitration is a formal method of dispute resolution involving a third party neutral who makes a binding decision. The third party neutral (the 'arbitrator', 'arbiter' or 'arbitral tribunal') renders the decision in the form of an 'arbitrati ...

for the prevention and settlement of industrial disputes extending beyond the limits of any one state". More controversially, the scope of the Act was “extended” to include disputes “...in relation to employment upon State railways, or to employment in industries carried on by or under the control of the Commonwealth or a State or any public authority constituted under the Commonwealth or a State...”. It excluded disputes in “...any agricultural, viticultural, horticultural, or dairying pursuit...”.

History

The Conciliation and Arbitration Bill (1903 & 1904) was drafted by Charles Kingston, Australia's pioneer of compulsory arbitration, drawing on

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

's '' Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1894''. Kingston was a Minister in Deakin's Protectionist Government, which was supported by the Labour Party. In July 1903, Kingston resigned suddenly from the Deakin government in a fit of anger over the opposition of John Forrest and Edmund Barton to an extension of conciliation and arbitration to British and foreign seamen engaged in the Australian coastal trade. The scope of the legislation was very controversial at the time, resulting in changes of governments of

Alfred Deakin Alfred Deakin (3 August 1856 – 7 October 1919) was an Australian politician who served as the second Prime Minister of Australia, prime minister of Australia from 1903 to 1904, 1905 to 1908, and 1909 to 1910. He held office as the leader of th ...

(

Protectionist Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulations. ...

Chris Watson John Christian Watson (born Johan Cristian Tanck; 9 April 186718 November 1941) was an Australian politician who served as the third prime minister of Australia from April to August 1904. He held office as the inaugural federal leader of the Au ...

( Labour), and

George Reid Sir George Houston Reid (25 February 1845 – 12 September 1918) was a Scottish-born Australian and British politician, diplomat, and barrister who served as the fourth Prime Minister of Australia, prime minister of Australia from 1904 t ...

(

Free Trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold Economic liberalism, economically liberal positions, while economic nationalist politica ...

). In April 1904, Watson and Deakin fell out over the issue of extending the scope of the Conciliation and Arbitration Bill to cover state public servants. Labour members withdrew their support for Deakin, leading to the resignation of Deakin’s Government. Reid refused to form government, leading to the formation of the first Labour government led by Watson. Watson's government lasted only four months and was succeeded in August 1904 by Reid's which agreed to Labour's amendment to cover State government employees, and the Bill was passed with Labour's support.

The Act

The main objects of the Act were:Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1904
s.2 * to prevent lock-outs and strikes in relation to industrial disputes * to constitute a Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration having jurisdiction for the prevention and settlement of industrial disputes * to provide for the exercise of the jurisdiction of the Court by conciliation with a view to amicable agreement between the parties * in default of amicable agreement between the parties, to provide for the exercise of the jurisdiction of the Court by equitable award * to enable States to refer industrial disputes to the Court, and to permit the working of the Court and of State Industrial Authorities in aid of each other * to facilitate and encourage the organization of representative bodies of employers and of employees and the submission of industrial disputes to the Court by organizations, and to permit representative bodies of employers and of employees to be declared organizations for the purposes of this Act * to provide for the making and enforcement of industrial agreements between employers and employees in relation to industrial disputes.

References

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Further sources

National Archives of Australia
A fair go – a win for the workers
Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1904 (Cth)National Archives of Australia
Documenting Democracy: Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1904