Issues & Policy

e-print e-mail

High Court decision on Work Choices

On 14 November 2006, the High Court of Australia announced its decision in a challenge by all States and Territory governments, and other interveners, to the constitutional validity of the previous federal government's Work Choices laws.

A majority of five judges have upheld the constitutional validity of the Work Choices laws, as passed by the federal Parliament. Two judges dissented, holding that the laws were invalid.

A copy of the High Court's decision can be accessed from the AustLII Website. The NSW Parliamentary Library has prepared a summary of the decision and its implications.

In response to the decision, the Premier Mr Morris Iemma said: 'Work Choices may be constitutional but it doesn't mean it is fair. My government won't rest until [it] is confined to the dustbin of history". The NSW Minister for Industrial Relations, Mr John Della Bosca said: 'The judgement does not alter the Iemma Government's continued opposition to these unjust laws and its ongoing commitment to do everything in its powers to shield NSW families.'

For employers and employees who were absorbed into the federal industrial relations system on 27 March 2006, working arrangements continue to be governed by the relevant Notional Agreement Preserving State Award (NAPSA) or Preserved State Agreement (PSA) created on that date.

Employees and employers who remain within the NSW industrial relations system are unaffected by the High Court's decision.

The decision did not specifically address the definition of a constitutional corporation, so the question of which particular classes of enterprises or organisations are or are not constitutional corporations has not been fully answered, and may not be until the Court specifically considers such matters.