FWC applications up 10% in 2024–25, FWC’s latest annual report shows
The Fair Work Commission (FWC) is expected to address the growing reliance of employees and employers on generative artificial intelligence to draft their claims, according to the Australian Financial Review.
The AFR reported that the FWC will release a statement on the matter this week, following months of warnings from the commission about the use of AI in drafting dismissal claims.
According to the report, the FWC has observed in some past cases that applicants are utilising AI tools to look at their legal options and advice. There are also others who are using the technology to prepare their submissions.
One particular case in August saw the FWC rejecting an application that involved a worker who relied on AI to prepare his general protections claim almost two and a half years after his employment ended.
"The circumstances highlight the obvious danger of relying on artificial intelligence for legal advice," it said in the ruling earlier this year.
In a separate case, an employer was also caught referencing several case precedents that do not exist, likely due to assistance from generative AI applications, according to the AFR.
Such cases are called AI hallucinations, which Google Cloud defined as the incorrect or misleading results generated by AI models based on factors, such as insufficient training data, incorrect assumptions of the model, or biases in the data used to train the model.
The ACT Law Society warned that in the field of law, hallucinations from generative AI tools may include fabricated case law, legislation, or academic references.
Increase in FWC applications
The use of AI in FWC claims comes amid a 10% increase in applications to the commission in 2024–25, according to the commission’s latest annual report.
The report showed a total of 44,075 lodgements, with unfair dismissal applications accounting for 37%, with 16,500 applications filed.
"General protections involving dismissal applications made up a further 14% of lodgements and Supported Wage System Agreements contributed 13.5% of lodgements," the report read.
