Common rule awards

Common rule awards are a particular form of industrial award used in Australia to regulate minimum terms and conditions of employment. Awards are the end product of the processes of conciliation and arbitration where an industrial tribunal makes an award in settlement of an industrial dispute. Whereas awards are legally binding on all parties to the dispute which are named in the award, with common rule awards all employers in the industry or occupation covered by the award are bound by it.

Common rule awards are standard in Australia's state industrial relations systems and cover hundreds of thousands of employees and employers. For constitutional reasons, they may not lawfully be made in the Federal industrial relations system, except in the State of Victoria, following the referral of constitutional powers by that State to the Commonwealth.

Federal common rules awards were effectively used in Victoria in 2005 to provide award entitlements to around 500,000 Victorian employees that were stripped of their award conditions of employment following the abolition of State awards in 1992 by the Victorian Government.