Industrial Relations Court
The Industrial Relations Court of South Australia is constituted under the Fair Work Act 1994 . It was first established by the now repealed Industrial Arbitration Act of 1912 and replaced the former Court of Industrial Appeals. More information can be found on our history page. It is a court of record and a participating court under the Courts Administration Act 1993 and shares premises, staff and some Members with the Commission and the Tribunal. The Court has six Judges, three permanent full-time Magistrates and one Acting Industrial Magistrate. Please refer to our contacts page.
There are two jurisdictions within the Court:
General Jurisdiction
Under the Fair Work Act 1994 the Court's general jurisdiction covers all aspects of employment law and industrial offences, and it has the power to make declaratory judgments. It has jurisdiction to determine questions of law referred to it by an Industrial Magistrate or by the Commission and to determine questions relating to the validity of some determinations of the Commission. The Court also has jurisdiction to deal with certain matters under the Occupational Health, Safety and Welfare Act 1986, the Long Service Leave Act 1987, the Magistrates Court Act 1991 and all claims and disputes under the now repealed Workers Compensation legislation.
Magistrates Jurisdiction
The Industrial Magistrates have two principal jurisdictions. They are firstly the civil jurisdiction or inter parties, monetary claims for which jurisdiction is conferred by section 14 of the Fair Work Act 1994 . Such claims involve the pecuniary enforcement of the contract of employment which arises in many forms whether from a State or Federal industrial instrument or a contract. See our guide on Underpayment of Wages Claims . Secondly, Industrial Magistrates have a criminal jurisdiction, in which, sitting as the Magistrates Court, they hear charges laid under the Summary Procedure Act 1921.
The Registry is where you can lodge forms and claims or applications.
More detailed information and statistics can be found in the Annual Report.
