ARTICLE · 03 MARCH 2009

First ´Unfair´ Contract Claims Under The Independent Contractors Act

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The Federal Magistrates Court has now had two opportunities to consider and determine claims made in the jurisdiction which, at this stage, is unaffected by the Forward with Fairness reforms. In the first of these, the Federal Magistrates' Court found that the contracts of three owner-drivers were unfair, to the extent that they allowed the principal to require them to upgrade their trucks.

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One of the 'evils' eradicated from the industrial relations system by the Work Choices reforms was the 'unfair contracts' jurisdiction operating in NSW and Queensland, previously available to workers of all stripes, including employees, contractors (whether companies or individuals), and other 'arrangements' or 'understandings' for the performance of work. However, a more limited substitute jurisdiction was established by the Independent Contractors Act from March 2007, applicable only to contractors. The Federal Magistrates Court has now had two opportunities to consider and determine claims made in the jurisdiction which, at this stage, is unaffected by the Forward with Fairness reforms.

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