{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.017285531370038413, 'fraction_numerical': 0.004481434058898848, 'mean_word_length': 4.965648854961832, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
The Evolution of an Institution: The Transition from the Australian Industrial Relations Commission to Fair Work Australia 1

The theme for this colloquium invites an assessment of the contribution the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC) and its predecessor institutions have made to the present industrial relations system. That system is generally, if somewhat imprecisely, referred to as ‘Fair Work’. In one sense, therefore, the topic is an obituary for an institution that has passed into history. Necessarily, my contribution will be relatively short, but I look forward to the papers to follow. Hopefully, they will compensate for any deficiencies in my assessment. While I have referred to the passing of an institution, another way of looking at it is that we have reached another milestone in an historical continuum stretching back well over a century. The national industrial body has been reconstituted now on three occasions since 1905 and its powers and functions have been subject to almost continuous review and legislative alteration during that period. That is far too long a period for a paper like this. In any event, the changes in the most recent 20 years have been the most important and fundamental – and in a real sense have been revolutionary rather than evolutionary. While many of the papers to be presented today focus quite properly on outcomes, these are matters on which I find it difficult to be completely detached, as you would expect. My remarks are more concerned with the legislative framework and the process