What follows is a brief but powerful summary of the Fair Work Commission’s obligation to apply procedural fairness in and to its decisions.
“Ground 1 – Procedural fairness
[8] The Commission is required to observe procedural fairness in carrying out its functions.14 The Commission’s obligation to provide a fair hearing to all parties includes the provision of appropriate assistance to parties in the presentation of their case, particularly self-represented parties.15 However, the Commission is not obliged to ensure that parties take the best advantage of the reasonable opportunity they must be given to present their case.16 Furthermore, while a decision-maker may be bound to provide some advice and assistance to an unrepresented litigant in order to ensure a fair hearing, the decision-maker should not intervene to such an extent that they cannot maintain a position of neutrality in the litigation.17 There is no debate between the parties that the Commission has these obligations. The contest in this case concerns the application of the principles to the facts of the case.”
Appeal by MQT Pty Ltd v Chantelle Tamati [2025] FWCFB 265 delivered 20 November 2025 per- Gibian VP, Saunders DP and Dobson DP