The QIRC held that when exercising its arbitral power under s 262(3)(b) of the Industrial Relations Act 2016 to settle an industrial dispute, the Commission can only determine the parties' future rights and obligations, not solely determine existing rights and liabilities (which is judicial power). Section 262(4)(d) does not transform the Commission's arbitral power into judicial power; while the Commission may interpret an agreement or determine existing rights as a step toward an arbitral determination, it cannot settle a dispute by solely making declarations or underpayment findings. The Commission further held it cannot exercise arbitral power in respect of a terminated certified agreement because no entitlements or obligations subsist, and no accrued right to arbitration survives termination. On the construction of the multi-disciplinary team pay parity clause (cl 44 of EB11), the provision applies where a role in a multi-disciplinary team is one that can have either a health practitioner or a nurse employed in it — not merely where the work of nurses and health practitioners is interchangeable — and on the evidence, the clause did not apply to the NG6 nurses in any of the three relevant teams.
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