The Fair Work Act 2009 established the Fair Work Commission and Australia’s modern national workplace-relations system.
The Act was passed by the Australian Parliament in 2009 under the Labor government led by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. It replaced the WorkChoices framework and created a national system covering minimum employment standards, modern awards, enterprise bargaining, and protections against unfair dismissal.
The Fair Work Commission, originally called Fair Work Australia, became the independent tribunal responsible for setting and varying minimum wages, making awards, approving enterprise agreements, and resolving certain workplace disputes. The Act also created the National Employment Standards, a baseline set of statutory entitlements.
The law is sometimes confused with Australia’s earlier Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1904, which created a different federal industrial-relations structure. The Fair Work Act belongs to the modern national system and remains the central statute governing its framework, although it has been amended several times.