The Fair Work Commission has launched a 12 month plan to improve access to information and reduce the complexity of processes for its users.
Its plan What’s Next sets out the changes the Commission intends to make over the next year to improve services and meet the changing needs of the small and family business owners who use its services.
In a statement accompanying the plan, the Commission said it would provide more support to self-represented employees and employers — particularly small businesses — who were unfamiliar with the Fair Work Act and the Commission’s processes.
“The Commission will draw on technological advances and innovative public sector thinking in areas such as behavioural insights to deliver the plan,” it said.
It said What’s Next addressed five elements, including providing additional support to self-represented users, particularly at the early stage of dismissal cases; partnering with experts in ‘behavioural insights’; introducing a new case management system; significant expansion of access to free legal advice; and developing short summaries of key modern awards.
President of the Commission, Iain Ross (pictured) said the principle at the centre of What’s Next was a simple one: Listening to, and meeting, the needs of those who use the Commission’s services.
“We are determined to ensure the services we provide are efficient, effective and responsive to the expectations of the Australian community,” Justice Ross said.
The Commission’s 8-page What’s Next plan can be accessed at this PS News link.
