Workplace Advice Service marks one-year anniversary

August marks the one-year anniversary of the Workplace Advice Service, a free legal assistance program coordinated by the Fair Work Commission. The service is offered by the Commission as part of its ongoing efforts to improve access to justice and reduce complexity for unrepresented individuals and small business employers.

 Over the past 12 months, the service has expanded to operate in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia and has partnered with more than 65 law firms, community legal centres and legal aid bodies. So far, the program has facilitated over 1,100 pro bono consultations to eligible employees and small business employers. As the second year of operation commences, well over 200 requests for assistance are now received every month. 

The President of the Commission, the Hon. Justice Iain Ross AO, said the milestone of 12 months of operation provides an opportunity to acknowledge the contributions of the partners to the Workplace Advice Service.

“The success of the program would not be possible without the generous support and involvement of our partner organisations. I take this opportunity to thank them for their commitment to improving access to justice – without their support and time, we could not deliver this valuable service to the community.”

Over the next 12 months the Commission will continue to expand and improve the Workplace Advice Service, including further rolling out the service in metropolitan and regional locations and introducing a pilot program that offers legal representation services for Commission proceedings.

The Commission continues to focus on increasing the accessibility of the service. Having recently launched a Workplace Advice Service online request form and is conducting an extensive campaign to raise awareness of the program with small business employers and unrepresented individuals.

The Workplace Advice Service is a key initiative of the Commission’s What’s Next strategy which focuses on improving access and reduce complexity for our users.

More information about the Workplace Advice Service is available on the Commission’s website at: https://www.fwc.gov.au/resources/where-get-legal-advice/workplace-advice-service