Labor accused of stacking FWC with ‘union and lawyer mates’

A new deputy president of the Fair Work Commission has been named, while four other senior professionals are set to assume roles as commissioners or expert panel members.

Kamal Farouque, a former barrister who has been a principal lawyer at national plaintiff law firm Maurice Blackburn since 2010, has been appointed as deputy president, commencing on 7 April.

The Albanese government has also appointed three new commissioners – Trevor Clarke, Adam Walkaden, and Jessica Rogers – who will start their roles in late March or early April.

Clarke is the industrial and legal manager at the Australian Council of Trade Unions; Walkaden is the national legal director of the Mining and Energy Union; and Rogers has served as a commissioner on the South Australian Employment Tribunal (SAET) since 2023.

Elsewhere, Adele Labine-Romain, who has been the head of travel and tourism at Roy Morgan since 2024, has been reappointed as an expert panel member, commencing on 12 March.

At the start of its term, the Albanese government pledged to ensure that the Fair Work Commission reflected a mix of members from employer and worker backgrounds, following the appointment of 26 professionals from employer backgrounds under the former Coalition government.

The latest round of Labor appointments since March 2023 sees the split between those from an employer background versus union backgrounds as 28 to 26, with the government having appointed 21 members to the national workplace tribunal who have backgrounds in trade unions or with law firms.

Speaking about the appointments, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations Murray Watt said: “The work of the commission is vital to Australians’ lives and livelihoods.”

“The Albanese government has been hard at work this term delivering laws that ensure secure jobs, better pay and safer workplaces, and the FWC is busy working through the implementation of those reforms.

“I know they will execute their duties with impartiality, dedication and diligence.”

The appointments, however, have come under fire from industry groups, accusing the government of stacking FWC with allies.

In a statement, Australian Industry Group chief executive Innes Willox said these latest appointments “must mark the end of the politicisation of the commission”.

“A return to balanced, merit-based appointments to what is a key tribunal overseeing the conduct of Australia’s workplaces,” he said.

“The most recent round of appointments continues the government’s approach of selecting members who have union backgrounds. The FWC cannot become a political plaything for both major parties, depending on who is in government.

“Its role and function is too important for it to be treated as a reward or a sinecure for political purposes. It would be positive if, in the lead-up to the federal election, both major parties could commit to a transparent, merit-based appointment process for commissioners.

“The current approach to appointments devalues the commission and the role that it undertakes as well as driving scepticism among employers and employees about its standing.”

Steve Knott, the chief executive of the Australian Resources & Energy Employer Association, said the government has continued to stack FWC with its “union and lawyer mates”.

“All this does is encourage a future Coalition government to perpetuate Labor’s unacceptably partisan nature of appointments in an effort to rebalance the tribunal,” he said.

“The government’s sweeping legislative changes have elevated the FWC’s involvement in setting employment terms and conditions. Businesses are being significantly impacted by new intractable bargaining laws – or arbitration under a fancy label – multi-employer bargaining, same-job, same-pay orders and more.

“At a time when the FWC is increasingly required to make decisions on major commercial and contractual matters, the growth of union-linked appointees and the dearth of tribunal members with business experience is alarming.

“You would think that raising the stocks of members with a proven background and record in business practice and analysis would be a good idea.

“By sidelining these candidates, the Albanese government’s politicisation of the nation’s IR tribunal with union- and Labor-linked members is another kick in the teeth for business confidence and productivity.”

It comes, Knott argued, despite only 7.9 per cent of private sector employees who are union members.

“The broader public trust and confidence in courts, tribunals and other institutions is undermined when appointments are so blatantly political in nature,” he said.