The Industrial Court of Queensland (Court) is a superior court of record. The Court hears appeals on error of law or lack or excess of jurisdiction against decisions of the Commission, Industrial Registrar or an Industrial Magistrate.
The Court is constituted by the President, Vice President or the Deputy President. The Members of the Court are as follows:
President | The Hon. Justice Peter Davis |
Vice President | Vice President Daniel L. O'Connor OAM |
Deputy President | Deputy President John W. Merrell |
Deputy President | Deputy President Catherine M. Hartigan |
The President of the Court is also President of the Commission. The President may preside on a Full Bench of the Commission and, for certain matters, the Full Bench must include the President.
An appeal against a decision of the President may be made to the Court of Appeal. An appeal against a decision of a Full Bench which included the President also lies with the Court of Appeal.
The Commission is an independent tribunal. It is a court of record whose powers and functions derive from Chapter 11, Part 2 of the Industrial Relations Act 2016.
The Commission plays a major role in contributing to the social and economic well-being of people throughout Queensland through furthering the objects of the legislation, which is principally to provide a framework for industrial relations that is fair and balanced and supports the delivery of high-quality services, economic prosperity and social justice for Queenslanders.
There are currently 13 Members of the Commission. The Commission is headed by the President, who is also the President of the Industrial Court of Queensland. The Commission is additionally comprised of the Vice President, two Deputy Presidents and nine Industrial Commissioners. The current Members of the Commission are:
President | The Hon. Justice Peter Davis |
Vice President | Vice President Daniel L. O'Connor OAM |
Deputy President | Deputy President John W. Merrell |
Deputy President | Deputy President Catherine M. Hartigan |
Commissioners | Industrial Commissioner Minna L. Knight Industrial Commissioner Samantha C. Pidgeon Industrial Commissioner John C. Dwyer Industrial Commissioner Jacqueline M. Power Industrial Commissioner Roslyn D. H. McLennan Industrial Commissioner Daniel G. Pratt Industrial Commissioner Sharron M. Caddie Industrial Commissioner Christopher J. Gazenbeek Industrial Commissioner Peter B. O'Neill |
The President is responsible for administration of the Commission including allocation of all matters, references to a Full Bench, and general conduct of Commission business.
The Commission has powers and functions under various enactments:
Through this legislation, the Commission's jurisdiction includes:
The Commission hears matters in locations throughout Queensland.
The Industrial Registry is the Registry for the Court and Commission. The Industrial Registry is also the Registry for the Industrial Magistrates Court in relation to Fair Work Claims only.
The Industrial Registry provides high level administrative support to the Court, Commission and Industrial Registrar. All applications, appeals, forms, documents and material for Court and Commission matters are filed in the Industrial Registry.
The Industrial Registrar also has important functions and powers with regard to registered industrial organisations in accordance with Chapter 12 of the Industrial Relations Act 2016, which includes governing the affairs of industrial organisations, for example, their financial accountability and annual returns, applications to change their rules or requests for elections.
Until your matter is heard before the Court or Commission, most of your contact will be with staff of the Industrial Registry. Therefore, it is important for you to understand what the Registry Officers can and cannot do to help you prepare your matter.
Most importantly, Registry staff are not permitted to give you legal advice.
What we can do
What we can’t do
Business hours
The reception of the Industrial Registry is open from 8.30am to 4.45pm Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays and the compulsory Christmas to New Year closure).
Documents can be filed electronically at any time, however if sent after hours they will be accepted as being filed the next business day. You will be unable to file documents on public holidays, or closures, or outside of office hours.
If you are filing a document by email and what you are filing is over 30 pages, the Industrial Registry requires you to also provide a hard copy of the document (see Practice Direction 3 of the 2021 - Electronic Filing and Hard Copies of documents).