More than inconvenience required to suspend Queensland rail worker bans, FWC finds

The Fair Work Commission (FWC) has power to suspend or terminate protected industrial action for a proposed enterprise agreement if satisfied the action threatens public safety, health or welfare.

In Queensland Rail v Australian Rail, Tram and Bus Industry Union (ARTBIU) (2026), the employer, Queensland Rail, argued that work bans proposed by rail workers would have negative impacts on customers, such as:

passengers with mobility impairments;
passengers who rely on services to attend pre-arranged medical appointments;
regional customers who rely on trains to access health services provided in metropolitan areas;
customers who rely on trains to travel to and from work, including essential workers; and
customers who rely on trains for safe travel late on Friday and Saturday nights.

The employer also claimed it would create a risk of overcrowding on stations, which also has the potential to create additional security and safety issues, and cause the cancellation or delay of freight deliveries, which may have adverse consequences, including food shortages and increased food prices.

The FWC refused to grant an order suspending the industrial action, noting that disruptions were directly caused by the employer not accepting the work of employees imposing the bans rather than the bans themselves.

The employer provided evidence that it is experiencing record highs in the number of people using rail services in response to the high price of fuel. However, the FWC noted the bans took place over the Easter long weekend. Therefore, the suggestion of overcrowding on trains does not arise. While the bans would affect the ability to fix signal faults, the effects of these bans were speculative. The mere fact that the public would be inconvenienced is not sufficient to find that protected industrial action would threaten the health, wealth or safety of the population of South East Queensland and regional Queensland.

The FWC noted that suspending protected industrial action is not to be done lightly and is not to be used as a bargaining tactic to frustrate the lawful action of unions. The employer had been on notice for weeks that protected industrial action was a possibility.

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