Paid agents consultation

A lawyer or paid agent can represent parties in cases before the Fair Work Commission. To do so, they must receive permission under section 596(2) of the Fair Work Act 2009 and under the Fair Work Commission Rules 2013.  

Paid agents are not lawyers, but they charge or receive a fee to represent a person. 

Lawyers are regulated and paid agents are not. Lawyers are required to be registered and are subject to professional conduct rules and codes of ethics. Paid agents have no minimum requirements for conduct, experience or qualifications.

While many paid agents are competent professionals, sometimes Commission Members and staff see conduct that:

• may not be in the best interest of the paid agent’s client
• may not help us exercise our powers efficiently  
• may otherwise be concerning.  

At other times parties complain to the Commission about a paid agent’s conduct or practices.

We established the Paid Agents Working Group to consult on possible ways to manage challenging conduct by paid agents. 

The Paid Agents Working Group will identify and guide the implementation of ways we can make sure that all paid agents appearing before the Commission:

• conduct themselves in an ethical and honest manner
• act in the best interests of the people they represent, and  
• generally operate in accordance with standards that are broadly consistent with what would be expected of a lawyer in the same circumstances.

The working group will consult with representatives who are regularly involved in individual dispute cases before the Commission, as well as with law societies, peak bodies, and other interested parties.

The consultation will be conducted transparently and with the needs of our users in mind. 

Options paper

The working group have released the Paid Agents and the Fair Work Commission Options Paper (pdf) for consultation.

Submissions

Submissions in response to the options paper were invited and have now closed. 

All submissions are available on this webpage. Private or personal information has been deidentified or removed.

Consultation sessions

We encourage active involvement from all interested parties. 

In-person consultations on the paper will be conducted in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. Other locations may be considered on request.

Interested parties who wish to participate in consultation sessions must respond to consultation@fwc.gov.au by Wednesday 27 March 2024 at 5pm AEST.