Industrial Relations Commission Regulations 2005

All documents required to be filed or lodged under the Act or these regulations must be filed or lodged as the case requires in the office of the Registrar.

Subject to this regulation and regulations 5 and 6, documents required to be filed or lodged under the Act or these regulations must, unless in a particular case the Commission otherwise expressly approves, be lodged at a time when the office of the Registrar is open for business.

Where a document is required to be filed or lodged within a prescribed time and the office of the Registrar is not open for business on the last day on which it may be filed or lodged, it is taken to have been filed or lodged within time if it is filed or lodged on the next day that the office of the Registrar is open for business.

Every document required to be filed or lodged under the Act or these regulations and every copy for service must be in the form required by these regulations, clearly written or typed or reproduced on one side only with an adequate margin.

The Registrar is not to accept any document unless it has been fully and correctly completed in accordance with the Act and these regulations.

Appeal books lodged in relation to appeals under sections 49 and 84 of the Act are not documents for the purposes of subregulation (5).

Except where otherwise provided by these regulations or otherwise directed by the Commission, one copy of every document for the use of the Commission together with at least as many copies as there are parties must be filed or lodged in the office of the Registrar.

Where an application is received by the office of the Registrar for which a fee is prescribed for filing and the applicant does not pay the prescribed fee within 7 days from the date the application was received, the Registrar is to inform the applicant in writing of the requirement to pay the prescribed fee.

If the applicant does not pay the prescribed fee within 7 days after being informed under subregulation (8), the Registrar is to forward the application with a memorandum to that effect to the Chief Commissioner.

Subject to the requirements of the Commission’s website and this regulation a party may lodge an approved form electronically by completing the form on the Commission’s website at http://www.wairc.wa.gov.au.

Any requirement in these regulations for a signature does not apply if an approved form is lodged under subregulation (1).

A document sent by email to the office of the Registrar must be sent to an email address which is approved by the Registrar and published on the Commission’s website and must —

be in an electronic format approved by the Chief Commissioner; and

be capable of being printed in the form and with the content visible on screen; and

clearly state —

the sender’s name, postal address and telephone number; and

if applicable, the sender’s document exchange number and email address; and

what the sender requests the Registrar do with the document.

If a document is sent by email to the office of the Registrar but not in accordance with this regulation —

the document is taken not to have been lodged at the office of the Registrar; and

the Registrar must notify the person who sent it that the document has been taken not to have been lodged.

A document sent electronically need only comply with regulation 4(4) to the extent practicable.

If a document is lodged in accordance with subregulation (2), the Registrar must send an acknowledgment of the filing to the lodging party.

If a document that is lodged under subregulation (2) and accepted by the Registrar is a document that is required to be signed or stamped by the Registrar and returned to the lodging party the Registrar may return the document by sending it electronically to the email address of the lodging party.

Any requirement in these regulations for 2 or more copies of a document to be filed or lodged in the office of the Registrar is taken to have been satisfied if the document is lodged electronically in accordance with these regulations.

Subject to subregulation (2), the office of the Registrar is to be open to the public for the transaction of business on the days and at the times determined by the Registrar, after consultation with the Chief Commissioner, except on public holidays and on any other days on which public offices are closed.

A commissioner or the Registrar may, in special circumstances, direct that the office of the Registrar be open at times outside those determined under subregulation (1).

Subject to subregulation (3A), a document is taken to have been received on a particular day in the office of the Registrar if it is lodged electronically at any time on that day up to and including midnight.

If, in accordance with subregulation (3), a document lodged electronically would be received in the office of the Registrar on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, the document is taken to have been received in the office of the Registrar on the next day when the office of the Registrar opens to the public for the transaction of business.

Opening hours determined under subregulation (1) are to be published on the Commission’s website at http://www.wairc.wa.gov.au.

The Registrar is to issue all processes out of the Commission and each document presented to the office of the Registrar for filing or issue under the Act or these regulations is to be stamped with the stamp of the Commission endorsed with the date and time of filing.

The Registrar is to mark each originating process with a distinguishing number and all documents filed and any award, order, declaration or direction made by the Commission in relation to the matter is to be distinguished by the same number.

The Registrar is to keep a register of all proceedings in and awards, orders and declarations made by the Commission and the entries in the records kept with regard to each matter are to be entered together and kept separate from the entries with respect to any other matter.

Every decision of the Commission deposited in the office of the Registrar is to have the date it is deposited stamped upon it.

If the decision of the Commission is deposited electronically the Registrar is to electronically embed in the decision the date it is deposited.

The register referred to in these regulations may be in the form of a record or information stored by electronic means.

Subject to the provisions of these regulations relating to documents being accepted for filing, and the provisions requiring the party lodging the documents to complete the copies as endorsed by the Registrar, the Registrar is to cause the copies to be stamped and returned to the party.

The Registrar is to take such action in respect of applications to the Commission as the Chief Commissioner, either generally or in the particular case, may direct.

The Registrar is to keep a register in which the Registrar is to enter each filed application, the action taken by the Registrar in relation to it, and the date on which the action is taken.

Unless in any particular case the Chief Commissioner otherwise directs, the Registrar is to present each application to the Chief Commissioner for allocation when the Registrar is satisfied that the procedures necessary to enable the matter to be listed for hearing, including, when appropriate, the procedures referred to in sections 29A(2), (3) and (4) of the Act have been complied with.

Where the Chief Commissioner directs that the issues to be referred to the Commission for determination by arbitration are to be settled before the matter is allocated, those issues are to be settled before the Registrar unless the Chief Commissioner otherwise directs in that particular case.

There is to be a stamp which is to —

bear the words “The Stamp of the Western Australian Industrial Relations Commission”; and

provide for a date and a facsimile of the signature of the Registrar.

The stamp is to be in the custody of the Registrar.

In addition to any other requirement of these regulations the stamp is to be affixed by the Registrar or at his or her direction to all documents issued in the Registrar’s name in relation to proceedings before the Commission.

An electronic document may be stamped by having a digital version of the stamp embedded within it.

The Seal of the Commission is to bear the Royal Coat of Arms and the words “The Seal of the Western Australian Industrial Relations Commission”.

The Seal is to be in the custody of the Registrar.

The Seal is to be affixed by the Registrar or at his or her direction to all awards and orders of the Commission and to such other documents as the Commission may direct.

An electronic document may have a digital version of the Seal embedded within it.

The Registrar may only publish on a website maintained by the Commission such material as is authorised by the Act, these regulations or by a commissioner.

Where under this regulation the Registrar publishes on a website maintained by the Commission a notice or other material required by these regulations the Registrar is to ensure that the notice or material clearly states the authorisation and the day on which the notice or material is first published on the website.