Source: Workplace Express - Subscription Service (25.03.2026)
Ahead of legislation to fast track "emergency" FWC supply chain orders in response to surging fuel prices, the tribunal will this morning consider TWU and ARTIO suggestions for weekly reviews to propel supply‑chain cost recovery measures, but the MBA argues it should be left to governments.
The TWU and the Road Transport Industrial Organisation have included the options in a joint submission ahead of a conference before Vice President Mark Gibian this morning, at which he will consider steps to address the effects of fuel price spikes driven by the Middle East war (see Related Article).
Vice President Gibian scheduled the conference after the union and the trucking peak organisation made an urgent plea for the umpire to consider piggybacking on the TWU's current bids for minimum standards orders and road transport contractual chain orders under Chapters 3A and 3B of the Fair Work Act.
Workplace Relations Minister Amanda Rishworth this week announced the Albanese Government will also amend the Fair Work Act to remove a six-month "wait time" before the FWC can make an order requiring transport clients to offer fair terms.
It is meant to facilitate an "emergency" contract chain order "to deal with the current spike in fuel prices caused by the war in the Middle East".
The TWU and the ARTIO note in their submission that, as of Monday, diesel alone had increased by approximately 60% in less than a month.
Describing the fuel price increases as "dramatic, unsustainable" and unlikely to "reduce or stabilise in the short to medium term", they say a "whole of industry solution where every supply chain participant, including clients, account for rising fuel costs in their contracts or arrangements is necessary".
The TWU and the ARTIO propose several "potential solutions" to be discussed at this morning's conference, including:
The TWU and the ARTIO also acknowledge that supply chain participants "account for the recovery of fuel costs in different ways in their contracts and/or arrangements".
"This may include offering secondary parties, including road transport businesses or regulated workers, discounted fuel subsidies through specific petroleum retailers, discounted fuel at holding tanks maintained by the supply chain participant or some other arrangement."
The Trucking Association says in its submission that it joined the TWU and the ARTIO in approaching the Albanese Government to propose Fair Work Act amendments empowering the FWC to issue emergency contractual chain orders.
But it says that "even if the proposed amendment does not go ahead, it would be open to the FWC and interested parties to use the information gathered through this conference" to reopen the hearing schedule and "expedite" the TWU's application for road transport contractual chain orders.
The tribunal could also consider designating the TWU's application as "urgent under s536NT(4), which would reduce the time period before the order comes into force to six months", the Trucking Association says.
Master Builders argues, however, that the FWC is not in a position to play any "productive role in responding to the supply chain issues facing the building and construction industry due to the fuel price increases resulting from the conflict overseas".
According to its submission, these conversations "may simply add to the pressures already being felt across the industry".
It further contends that "considering these issues through the lens of an employment tribunal underestimates the complexities of the challenges facing the sector".
MBA says it is instead "actively engaging with all levels of government to find a way to best manage these challenges, including in their role as a client, regulator and legislator".
It says this is "the most appropriate and productive way forward".
ARTIO and TWU joint submission
Trucking Association submission