The government wants a new Fair Work Court to speed up disputes, but business groups warn it could add cost, not cut it.
The federal government wants to create a new Fair Work Court, promising a faster, cheaper way to resolve workplace disputes than the current system allows.
Announced by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, alongside Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Amanda Rishworth and Attorney-General Michelle Rowland, the proposal would establish a specialist court working alongside the existing Fair Work Commission, staffed by judges with dedicated workplace relations expertise.
What’s being proposed
Under the current system, the government says some workers and small businesses wait more than two years for a resolution, sometimes on cases that end up costing more to run than the original claim is worth.
The new court is pitched as a fix for that, a decades-overdue replacement, as the government notes, for the dedicated industrial relations court the Howard Government abolished in 1997. Consultation on the court’s design will run through the rest of the year, with details still to come on timing, cost and how it will interact day to day with the Fair Work Commission.
The government’s case
“Australians who have been underpaid hundreds, even thousands, of dollars shouldn’t have to wait years for justice, or be told their case will cost more than their claim,” Albanese said. “That’s why Labor will fix it, with the Fair Work Court to resolve disputes faster and at lower cost, benefiting employees and employers alike.”
Rishworth said specialist expertise was central to the design. “Specialist judges with workplace relations expertise would ensure workplace matters are considered by people with appropriate expertise,” she said.
“We want to get this right, which is why consultation will be central to shaping the design of the proposed court.” Attorney-General Michelle Rowland framed it as an access to justice measure, saying the court would “create a streamlined dispute resolution pathway” for both workers and businesses.
Business groups push back
Not everyone is convinced. Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Andrew McKellar argued that workplace relations law has already “vastly increased complexity and uncertainty” in recent years, warning a dedicated new court risks becoming what he called a lawyer’s picnic.
Business Council chief executive Bran Black said the organisation backed the idea of simpler dispute resolution in principle, but cautioned the new court could end up adding another layer of process without clear practical benefit. He pointed to the stakes for smaller operators directly: a case that costs more than it’s worth isn’t just unfair, he said, it can be the difference between a business staying open or closing.
Australian Industry Group chief executive Innes Willox went further, arguing a new specialised court wouldn’t address what he described as a fundamentally broken and overly complex workplace relations system in the first place.
Rishworth pushed back on the early criticism in comments to ABC Afternoon Briefing, saying she expected small businesses would welcome an efficient alternative to heading straight to the Federal Court, and noting she was surprised business groups were ruling out the proposal before consultation had even begun.
What happens next
The announcement lands alongside other changes to the workplace relations system. The 2026-27 federal budget already includes $1.3 million for specialised support aimed at helping small businesses navigate existing dispute processes, and the Fair Work Commission is separately examining how artificial intelligence might assist with tribunal hearings, after reporting a sharp rise in claims it attributed in part to AI-assisted lodgements.
For now, the Fair Work Court remains a proposal rather than a settled design. Workers, employers and legal experts will get a chance to weigh in before the government finalises how the court will actually operate, and whether it delivers the faster, cheaper resolution it promises will depend heavily on details not yet public.
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