Extract from virtual tour video:
The Fair Work Commission is now in session—please be seated.
Di Lloyd, Manager Media and Communications:
The purpose of the virtual tour is really to give any parties that come before the Commission, but most likely unrepresented or infrequent users of the Commission, a real insight into what their experience will be like.
The tour focuses very much on the unfair dismissal area because that’s one of our highest volume of unrepresented and infrequent users.
Extract from virtual tour video:
You start your unfair dismissal claim by lodging an application form. This form contains all your contact and employment details and it sets out why you think your dismissal was unfair.
Di Lloyd, Manager Media and Communications:
It really gives unrepresented parties and infrequent users a step-by-step guide to the entire process for an unfair dismissal matter from the very start where you might be determining whether to put in an application or not, to putting in the application, responding to an application, going through the conciliation process and then if you do end up going to hearing, exactly what that process will be like.
Extract from virtual tour video:
Each side must prepare a case which includes written witness statements and an outline of submissions. And if the parties are unrepresented they must argue the case themselves.
The person at the front is the Member of the Commission. They are the person who will decide the case.
The Associate is the person sitting in front of the Member. They help the Member conduct the hearing. They swear in witnesses who will be giving evidence and they handle the paperwork and administration.
The large table in the room is called the bar table. This is where the employee and employer representatives sit while you may sit behind them. If you don’t have a representative you will sit at the bar table.
Di Lloyd, Manager Media and Communications:
It’s an extension of a lot of the work that we’ve been doing over the last 12 to 18 months, so through our Future Directions program we’ve been looking a lot about accessibility and accountability and access to justice.
And so one of the things that we’ve really been starting to look at is our language and how we explain what we do to parties. So this is just an extension of that where we’ve really gone in to a plain English format. We’ve tried to take a lot of the ‘legalese’ out as much as we possibly can and explain things as simply as we can.
The response has been very positive, so particularly for the conciliation section of the virtual tour. For parties to be able to have a look at that video before they go into that process and understand how to get the best out of that process has been extremely valuable.
Extract from virtual tour video:
A conciliation is not a legal process. It is more like a meeting that is conducted in a telephone conference call.
“Natalie, I’ll have the private session with you now if that’s okay with both of you—John, could you hang up. So Natalie, I’d like to ask you what you’d like to say and I’d like to ask you also what you hope to achieve out of today.”
“What I’d like to get is my job back but if that can’t happen I guess we can negotiate some compensation.”
Both sides need to come to the conciliation with a clear idea of the outcomes they want to achieve or are prepared to accept.
“John, I’m coming now to what Natalie is actually seeking out of the application to settle the matter.”
Di Lloyd, Manager Media and Communications:
Some of the challenge was really around taking very complex information and very complex legislation and turning it into a simple process and something that is easily understood by a broad audience.
But some of the other challenges with it was there’s just such an enormous amount of content that could go in to something like a virtual tour because no case is the same as it goes through the process. So for us it was determining what those key pieces of information were that parties may need to know about.
But also deciding on those key areas that would have most benefit, particularly around where parties are generally often making mistakes or are concerned or may be unsure so we’ve really tried to focus on those areas.
Extract from virtual tour video:
Now, let’s look at the jurisdiction rules we mentioned earlier in more detail. It’ll help you understand when employees can apply and when employers might have grounds for a jurisdictional objection.
First, employees have to be covered by the national unfair dismissal laws. All Commonwealth government employees are covered. But for other people coverage varies depending on your location and employer.
Di Lloyd, Manager Media and Communications:
It certainly isn’t complete—there will be a great deal that will be added over time. So as part of our Future Directions II program we will be looking to expand the virtual tour quite markedly. We’ll be looking at including virtual tours of the areas of general protections, for example. So we’ll also be looking at agreement making and potentially anti-bullying as well.
We’re very happy and proud of what we’ve done with the virtual tour. It’s quite a unique thing for us to have really opened up our processes so much in a video form. We’re very proud of how simplistic it is. So it really is making it easy for parties that aren’t used to coming to the Commission to really understand exactly what will happen.
