An explosion in disputes brought to workplace watchdogs has been blamed on artificial intelligence, which makes it easier for workers to bring unfair dismissal and other claims, even when there is little chance of success.
In a presentation to the Victorian Bar Association on Wednesday, Fair Work Commissioner Justice Adam Hatcher said it became clear last year that court operations were being “significantly disrupted” by the proliferation and use of AI tools.
Applications dealing with offenses resulting in dismissal increased by 62% in the six months to December last year compared to the three-year average from 2022 to 2025. Applications dealing with other violations increased by 135%.
As generative AI tools become more accessible and widely used, disgruntled workers find it easier to use these tools to file formal complaints against their employers.
Mr Hatcher said he didn’t realize until recently how much easier AI had made the process of obtaining information and applying for or submitting relief under the Fair Work Act.
“When I tried this exercise myself on ChatGPT late last year, the amounts really dropped,” he said.
“I told ChatGPT that I had been fired and asked what I could do. After providing some basic facts, including the reason for the dismissal and my view that I was fired for filing a complaint several years ago, ChatGPT made an application under FW section 365. [Fair Work] A form of law that can be submitted along with a witness statement containing a substantially fabricated story about my termination. ”
Hatcher said the AI would receive a reward in the range of $15,000 to $40,000 in a “realistic scenario” but said it would take less than 10 minutes.
However, he said that based on the facts he provided to ChatGPT, the case could not really be assessed as having a reasonable chance of success.
There were also legislative changes such as laws to provide job security, better pay and eliminate loopholes, but these were not the “key drivers” of the commission’s sudden surge in workload, he said.
Hatcher said that apart from concerns about AI accuracy, the increased workload is stressing the commission’s staff.
Until 2023, the commission received approximately 30,000 applications annually. After that year, it increased rapidly. The total number of lodges will increase to 40,000 in 2023-24 and 44,000 in 2024-25, breaking previous records.
Hatcher said he expects nearly 55,000 cases to pass through the committee floor this fiscal year.
“This growth trend shows no signs of plateauing and we have no idea what the ‘new normal’ will be.”
“The bottom line is that by the end of this fiscal year, FWC’s total workload will likely increase by more than 70% over three years,” Hatcher said.
This largely reflects an increase in the proportion of people contesting their dismissal, according to the commission’s rough calculations, to 84% in the year to February 2024, up from nearly 76% a year earlier.
Hatcher said there was a clear correlation between the number of redundancy-related claims and labor market conditions, but these cases track the number of layoffs, and over the past few years the statistical relationship has broken down.
“that [the increased workload] “In my view, the only reasonable inference that can be drawn is that the increasing use of AI tools by potential litigants is the main culprit,” he said.
Hatcher noted that the key to this conclusion emerges from the widespread use of AI-generated language in pending applications.
“Once you understand what this looks like, it’s very easy to tell,” he said.
“If you are offered an appointment to the FWC, do not take it thinking it will improve your work-life balance,” he warned. “That won’t happen.”
Importantly, Hatcher said, it is also affecting the commission’s performance, including not only the timeline for processing, hearing and resolving applications, but also the handling of major cases of public importance, such as gender-based undervaluation issues and enterprise bargaining agreements.
Hatcher said that while AI has brought some benefits, such as helping workers become aware of the commission and its processes, the tool could be harmful if it fabricates facts or fudges claims of general protection for those who don’t meet the standards.
In response to the expanded use of AI and increased workloads, the Commission will make changes such as requiring forms and documents to disclose the use of AI.
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Millie Mulloy is an economics writer for the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. She was previously an economics correspondent based at the Press Gallery in Canberra and a banking writer based in Sydney.Connect via X or Email.
