Australian Fair Pay Commission

The Australian Fair Pay Commission was an Australian legislative body that existed from 2006 to 2009. It was created under the Howard Government's "WorkChoices" industrial relations laws in 2006 to set the minimum pay for workers. Established to replace the wage-setting functions of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission, the Commission set and adjusted a single adult minimum wage, non-adult minimum wages (such as training wage), minimum wages for award classification levels, and casual loadings. The Commission was abolished in December 2009 and the wage-setting function passed to the minimum wage panel of the Fair Work Commission.

Professor Ian Harper was the inaugural chairman of the Commission, presiding over four commissioners: Hugh Armstrong, Patrick McClure AO, Mike O’Hagan, and Honorary Professor Judith Sloan.

The profile of the members of the Commission was different from that of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission which previously had responsibility for determining the above matters. There was less representation of trade unions, and less transparency in decision-making, making it possible for the Commission to make judgements with no community oversight or consultation. Unlike the Australian Industrial Relations Commission, the Commission funded substantial research on the economic effects of raising the minimum wage, and proponents claimed that this placed more of an emphasis on determining whether the economic evidence suggested that raising the minimum wage made the poor better off.

Critics argued that the board lacked independence and scope and that it reduced the benefits of workers, while supporters believed it helped to stimulate the economy and improve working conditions.

On 26 October 2006, the Commission handed down its first decision. The Commission's media release stated:

The Australian Fair Pay Commission today announced an increase of $27.36 per week in the standard Federal Minimum Wage and in all Pay Scales up to $700 per week. This covers just over one million Australian workers who rely on the Commission’s decisions for adjustments in their wages.

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