New vice president, 2 commissioners appointed to Fair Work Commission

A senior counsel has been named as the new vice president of the Fair Work Commission, while an additional two commissioners have also been appointed.

Last week, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations Tony Burke named Mark Gibian SC as the new vice president of the Fair Work Commission following the looming retirement of Joseph Catanzariti on 3 June.

Gibian is a barrister at HB Higgins Chambers, Sydney, having joined the Bar in 2002 before being appointed as a senior counsel in 2018. His practice focuses on industrial and employment law, administrative law and judicial review, migration and refugee law, human rights and discrimination law and disciplinary proceedings.

He will commence in the role on 11 June.

Further, Julia Fox (the national assistant secretary of the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees’ Association) and Ben Redford (an executive director at the United Workers Union) have been appointed as commissioners, with their roles starting on 27 May and 8 July, respectively.

In a statement, Minister Burke said: “All three appointees have extensive experience and will bring impartiality, dedication, and diligence to the commission. The work of the commission is more important than ever with the implementation of the government’s significant workplace relations reforms to ensure secure jobs, better pay and safer workplaces for Australian workers.

“The two new commissioners will assist the Fair Work Commission in performing new functions arising from the passage of the government’s Closing Loopholes laws.”

“On behalf of the government, I thank Mr Catanzariti for his strong leadership as vice president of the commission over the last decade.”