View source for Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration

{{Short description|Australian court (1904 to 1956)}}
{{Use Australian English|date=June 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2018}}
{{Infobox court
|court_name       = Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration
|native_name      = <!-- native name of the court, if different --> 
|image            = Coat of Arms of Australia.svg
|imagesize        = 150px
|caption          =
|image2           = 
|imagesize2       = 
|caption2         = 
|established      = 1904<!-- year -->
|dissolved        = 1956<!-- year -->
|jurisdiction     = [[Australia]]<!-- Official jurisdiction --> 
|location         = <!-- city --> 
|coordinates      = <!-- {{coord|45.000|-122.000|display=inline,title}} --> 
|motto            =  
|type             = <!-- partisan election/non-partisan election/legislative selection/executive selection/co-option/etc --> 
|authority        = ''[[Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1904]]''<!-- constitution/statute/monarch--> 
|appealsto        = [[High Court of Australia]]<!-- appeals from this court go where -->
|appealsfrom      = <!-- appeals from what other courts are heard by this -->
|terms            = [[Life tenure|Life]]<!-- length of court term for judges -->
|positions        = <!-- number of positions/seats on court -->
|budget           = <!-- amount of annual budget -->
|chiefjudgetitle  = <!-- title of the top judge such as chief justice/senior judge -->
|chiefjudgename   = <!-- current chief's name -->
|termstart        = <!-- year current chief became chief -->
|termend          = <!-- year term for current chief as chief ends, if applicable -->
|termend2         = <!-- year term of current chief ends if applicable -->
|chiefjudgetitle2 = <!-- title of the second top judge if applicable-->
|chiefjudgename2  = <!-- current deputy chief's name -->
|termstart2       = <!-- year current deputy chief became chief -->
|termend3         = <!-- year term for current deputy chief as chief ends, if applicable -->
|termend4         = <!-- year term of current deputy chief ends if applicable -->
}}
The '''Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration''' was an [[Australian court]] that operated from 1904 to 1956 with jurisdiction to hear and [[arbitration|arbitrate]] interstate industrial disputes, and to make [[Award (Australian industrial relations)|awards]]. It also had the judicial functions of interpreting and enforcing awards and hearing other criminal and civil cases relating to industrial relations law.

The Court was declared invalid by the [[High Court of Australia]] in the ''[[Boilermakers' case]]'',<ref name="boilermakers">{{cite AustLII|HCA|10|1956|litigants=[[R v Kirby; Ex parte Boilermakers' Society of Australia]] |parallelcite=(1956) 94 [[Commonwealth Law Reports|CLR]] 254}}.</ref> and was replaced by two bodies: the [[Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission]] and the [[Commonwealth Industrial Court]].

==History==
The Court was created in 1904 by the ''[[Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1904]]'',<ref>{{cite Legislation AU|Cth|num_act|ccaaa190413o1904441|Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1904}}.</ref> an Act of the [[Parliament of Australia]]. The Court was initially less important than the various State industrial conciliation commissions, which had jurisdiction over all disputes which occurred within their respective states. The Court's workload was so low that it made only six awards in the first five years of its existence.<ref name="trade union archives">{{cite web | title=Commonwealth Court of Conciliation & Arbitration | format=http | work=[[Australian Trade Union Archives]] | url=http://www.atua.org.au/biogs/ALE1416b.htm | accessdate=18 January 2006 }}</ref>

Amendments in 1926 reformed the Court. The changes included replacing the office of President with that of Chief Judge alongside other judges, and ensuring all cases involving the basic or living wage would be heard by a full bench of the Court. The changes also allowed for the appointment of Conciliation Commissioners, with a role similar to [[mediation|mediators]]. Further changes were made to the Court in 1947 to increase the role of the Commissioners, leaving the judges to conduct the judicial work, and a select few matters of arbitration including the basic wage and the minimum wage for women.<ref name="trade union archives" />

In 1956, the [[High Court of Australia]] in the [[Boilermakers' case]] held that the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration, as a [[tribunal]] exercising the non-judicial power of [[arbitration]], could not also exercise [[judiciary|judicial power]] as a [[Chapter III Court]] under the Australian Constitution.<ref name="boilermakers"/> The decision has come to stand for the important doctrine of the [[separation of powers in Australia]]. The decision effectively rendered the Court defunct.

Following the decision, two new bodies were created to perform the function of the now-defunct Court. The [[Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission]] was created in 1956 to carry out the non-judicial functions.<ref name="1956 Act">{{cite Legislation AU|Cth|num_act|caaa1956441956292|Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1956}}.</ref> It was renamed the Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Commission in 1973,<ref name="1973 Act">{{cite Legislation AU|Cth|num_act|caaa19731381973292|Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1973}}.</ref> the [[Australian Industrial Relations Commission]] in 1988,<ref name="1988 Act">{{cite Legislation AU|Cth|num_act|ira1988242|Industrial Relations Act 1988}}.</ref> Fair Work Australia in 2010,<ref name="2009 Act">{{cite Legislation AU|Cth|num_act|fwa2009114|Fair Work Act 2009}}.</ref> and the [[Fair Work Commission]] in 2012.<ref name="2012 Act">{{cite Legislation AU|Cth|num_act|fwaa2012194|Fair Work Amendment Act 2012}}.</ref>

The [[Commonwealth Industrial Court]] was created to exercise the Court's judicial powers.<ref name="1956 Act"/> In 1973 the Industrial Court was renamed the Australian Industrial Court,<ref name="1973 Act"/> and in 1977 its functions were transferred to the new [[Federal Court of Australia]].<ref name="1976 Act">{{cite Legislation AU|Cth|num_act|fcoaa1976249|Federal Court of Australia Act 1976}}.</ref>

==Notable decisions==
One of the Court's early awards was the landmark ''[[Harvester Judgement|Harvester case]]'' (Ex Parte H.V. McKay of 1907), delivered by Justice [[H.B. Higgins]], which introduced the concept of the [[living wage]] into Australian industrial relations.<ref name="AIRC" /> Within 25 years, the concept of a living wage had been extended to most of the Australian workforce, and influenced later decisions establishing certain types of paid leave, and equal pay for indigenous Australians and women.<ref name="FWCEssay">{{cite book
|title=Waltzing Matilda and the Sunshine Harvester Factory
|url=https://www.fwc.gov.au/documents/documents/education/resources/waltzing_matilda.pdf
|publisher=Fair Work Commission
|editor-last=Hamilton
|editor-first=R.S.
|year=2011
|isbn=9780646548814
|access-date=4 December 2018}}</ref>
During the [[Great Depression in Australia|Great Depression]], the Court reduced wages by 10%.<ref name="AIRC" />

The Court also decided cases setting the standard [[working time|working week]] in Australia. In 1904, the standard working week was 48 hours. In 1930, the Court reduced the working week to 44 hours. In 1947, the Court reduced the working week to 40 hours in a case that took two years to hear.<ref name="AIRC">{{cite web|title=Centenary of Federation and the Court/Commission |format=http |work=Australian Industrial Relations Commission |url=http://www.airc.gov.au/features/ceremonial050601/docs/background.html |accessdate=18 January 2006 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060105123942/http://www.airc.gov.au/features/ceremonial050601/docs/background.html |archivedate=5 January 2006 }}</ref><ref name="Age">{{cite web
|title=70 years ago today, the 40-hour, five day working week began
|url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/70-years-ago-today-the-40hour-five-day-working-week-began-20180101-h0c3dd.html
|publisher=The Sydney Morning Herald
|date=1 January 2018
|access-date=4 December 2018}}</ref>

==List of presidents and judges==
{{Transcluded section|source=List of judges of the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration}}{{:List of judges of the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration}}<!-- List transcluded from list article -->

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:1904 establishments in Australia]]
[[Category:1956 disestablishments in Australia]]
[[Category:Arbitration courts and tribunals]]
[[Category:Former Commonwealth of Australia courts and tribunals]]
[[Category:Courts and tribunals established in 1904]]
[[Category:Courts and tribunals disestablished in 1956]]