Industrial Relations Society of New South Wales News

IRSNSW Annual Practitioners' Day - 25 March 2026

Thu, 19 Feb 2026 03:23:52 GMT

Skilling up for the Future of Industrial Relations

The industrial relations landscape is evolving fast — are you ready for what’s next? Join us on 25 March 2026 for the IRSNSW Annual Practitioners' Day, a must-attend event for IR professionals who want to stay ahead of change, sharpen their expertise, and future-proof their practice. Topics include developments in the unfair dismissal and general protections jurisdictions, reforms to the NSW Industrial Relations Act and Workers Compensation legislation, investigations and a whole lot more.

Click here for more details

IRS Newcastle Branch - Practitioners Workshop

Wed, 18 Feb 2026 03:22:57 GMT

The Industrial Relations Society of NSW - Newcastle Branch is excited to announce our first event of 2026:

IR Mastery: Building Core Strengths & Embracing New Skills

Link to event information

New resources - Preparing for a hearing at the Fair Work Commission

Mon, 17 Nov 2025 02:17:35 GMT

The Fair Work Commission has expanded its range of online learning resources.

The new ‘Preparing for a Hearing’ module is available now in the Online Learning Portal.

This module is for employees and employers planning to represent themselves at a Commission hearing. It is also a valuable training resource for new practitioners appearing before the Commission.

The module covers:

The hearing process

Procedural fairness

Preparing evidence, witness statements and submissions

The role of the Commission Member and others at the hearing

Dress code and appropriate behaviour

Presenting evidence, questioning witnesses, and making clear submissions

What to expect after a hearing

The module is free to access and contains video case studies, animations, learning checks, templates, and a downloadable guide. Users who log in can also obtain a completion certificate.

2025 AGM & Patron's Lunch Wrap-Up

Fri, 14 Nov 2025 02:42:35 GMT

IRSNSW would like to thank everyone who attended the AGM and Patron’s Lunch on 6 November 2025, we hope you enjoyed it as much as we did.

Our sincere thanks go to our panel members, Patron, Anna Booth (Fair Work Ombudsman) and Justice Adam Hatcher (President of the Fair Work Commission), for sharing their insights on the more inclusive, often tripartite, approaches being taken by the two Fair Work entities in carrying out their respective functions. We also extend our appreciation to our outgoing IRSNSW President, Christa Lenard, for facilitating the panel.

We take this opportunity to thank the outgoing Committee for their dedication and contributions over the past year, and to warmly welcome the incoming Committee.

The list of Committee members can be viewed HERE.

Meet the Commission and End of Year Member Drinks

Wed, 05 Nov 2025 21:53:07 GMT

The Industrial Relations Society of New South Wales (IRSNSW), together with Honourable Justice Taylor, invites members of the IRSNSW to attend the annual Meet the Commission and End of Year Member Drinks, to be held on 13 November at the NSW Industrial Relations Commission

Link to event information

2025 AGM Notice

Wed, 05 Nov 2025 21:47:07 GMT

Notification of 2025 Annual General Meeting

Members of IRSNSW are advised that the 2025 Annual General Meeting will be held on 6 November 2025 commencing at 12pm.

Location: Members Dining Room NSW Parliament House

The agenda, reports and nomination forms are posted on the Members Section of this site.

Notice to Members: Change in Secretariat Services

Thu, 26 Jun 2025 00:02:59 GMT

Notice to Members: Change in Secretariat Services

The Industrial Relations Society of NSW (IRSNSW) wishes to inform members that from 1 July 2025 Secretariat services for both the NSW and Newcastle Branch will be provided by the team at FineHaus, following the recent retirement of Barbara Holmes.

Barbara has supported the IRSNSW with dedication and professionalism for nearly a decade. We sincerely thank Barbara for her outstanding contribution and extend a warm welcome to Finehaus.

Please be assured that there will be no changes to your member experience. All existing services and points of contact for both the NSW and Newcastle Branch will continue as usual under the management of FineHaus.

IRSNSW: membership@irsnsw.org.au.

Newcastle Branch: newcastle@irsnsw.org.au

If you have any questions, please feel free to get in touch. And if you haven’t yet renewed your membership yet, now’s the perfect time - we’d love to continue supporting you for another year with all the fantastic benefits that come with being a member of the IRSNSW.

Christa Lenard

President, IRSNSW

2024 AGM Notice

Sun, 06 Oct 2024 22:30:32 GMT

Notification of 2024 Annual General Meeting

Members of irsnsw are advised that the 2024 Annual General Meeting will be held on 14th November 2024 commencing at 12pm.

Location: Members Dining Room NSW Parliament House

The agenda, reports and nomination forms will be posted on the Members Section of this site.

The AGM will be followed by the Patron's Lunch. For booking options click here

2024 Meet the Commission - Event

Mon, 23 Sep 2024 12:27:57 GMT

On 19 September 2024, The IRSNSW hosted its 2024 Meet the Commission event at the industrial court at 44 Phillip Street, Sydney.

The event was very popular this year, selling out within 24 hours.

The IRSNSW wishes to thank all the attendees for coming along and making it a very special night.

Link to event information

History video now available

Mon, 17 Jun 2024 02:00:00 GMT

The Industrial Relations Society of NSW (IRSNSW) is delighted to launch its first short film, ‘Building Bridges’, which explores the origins of the Society, its membership, activities, challenges and future.

This documentary is the key outcome of an oral history project involving interviews with 12 long-serving senior members including past presidents of the society, ALERA and the International Labour and Employment Relations Association (ILERA) and former editors of the Journal of Industrial Relations.

Overseen by former Society president Jonathan Hamberger, the project used a whole-of-life oral history approach. Interviewees were asked about their involvement with the Society and industrial relations in the context of a life lived. This approach saw them talk about the early influences that led them to industrial relations, their various career experiences and the value of membership with the IRSNSW.

“This is a wonderful project and captures the unique perspectives of a number of the IRSNSW’s valued members, many of whom are now Life Members of the Society. It is refreshing to take a look back on the history of the IRSNSW and celebrate what makes the IRSNSW so valuable for our members, today. A heartfelt thank you to Jonathan Hamberger and Judy Hughes for bringing this documentary to life” - Christa Lenard, current President of the IRSNSW.

IRSNSW extends its gratitude to ALERA for their generous grant, which contributed to the production of these videos.

The documentary and all 12 interviews are available on the society’s new YouTube channel - (click here). It is sure to be of interest to current and potential members as well as the broader industrial relations community.

Find out more about the project and the society’s history on our new History page - (click here). For membership benefits and enquiries, please contact membership@irsnsw.org.au.

Professional Development Day 2024

Mon, 18 Mar 2024 22:42:02 GMT

Over 90 participants attended the day, both in person and online. The highest number for many years. One participant told us " it was a fantastic session" another said "Thanks for a great event last week - I learnt so much"

Some photos from the day

Members of the Events Committee

Save the date irsnsw 2024 Conference

Mon, 10 Jul 2023 00:33:34 GMT

The 2024 Conference will be held on May 3-5th 2024

At the Novotel Wollongong Northbeach

ALERA Conference 27-28 October

Mon, 27 Feb 2023 03:16:33 GMT

Join us at the Hotel Grand Chancellor in Hobart, Tasmania for the 2023 ALERA National Conference and explore this year's conference topic: Australian Industrial Relations – What’s Next? The conference will feature a distinguished line up of keynote speakers, workshops and plenty of opportunity for discussion and debate on topical issues affecting IR professionals.

New Patron Elected

Wed, 30 Nov 2022 23:02:01 GMT

At the AGM on the 25th of November 2022 Anna Booth was elected as the new Patron of irsnsw

New Life Members are: Ron Callus, Braham Dabscheck, Marian Baird, Graham Evans and Lance Wright KC