Fair Work Commission introduces AI-assisted enterprise agreement checks: What ECEC providers need to know

Early childhood education and care (ECEC) providers lodging enterprise agreement approval applications will need to meet new digital document requirements as the Fair Work Commission prepares to introduce an AI-assisted tool into its pre-approval checking process.

The Commission is developing an Agreement Checklist Assistant, which will use artificial intelligence to help staff identify potential concerns within enterprise agreements before applications are allocated to a Commission Member for determination.

To support the new system, the Fair Work Commission Rules 2024 have been amended to require parties lodging an enterprise agreement approval application to provide an original digital version of the agreement.

The Commission's Amendments to the Fair Work Commission Rules news item provides further information about the rule changes.

For ECEC providers involved in enterprise bargaining, the change adds another important consideration to the agreement preparation and lodgement process.

Applicants must now provide an original digital version of an enterprise agreement when lodging an application for approval.

The Commission describes this as a machine-readable electronic version of the agreement created using word-processing software. Further detail is provided in the National Practice Lead for Agreements' Statement about digital copies of enterprise agreements.

In most cases this is likely to be a Microsoft Word (.docx) document, although other formats, including Rich Text Format and PDF, may also be accepted.

Where the signed version of an agreement is not available in an accepted digital format, applicants will need to provide an electronic version containing identical content, apart from the signatures.

This means some applicants may need to lodge two versions of their agreement – the signed copy and an additional machine-readable digital copy.

The requirement is intended to allow the Commission's new Agreement Checklist Assistant to analyse agreement documentation during preliminary checking.

The Agreement Checklist Assistant is being developed as a support tool for Fair Work Commission staff responsible for undertaking pre-approval checks.

According to the Commission, the tool will be able to:

• draw out key timeline information
• compare relevant clauses
• flag potential issues for further consideration.

Importantly, the Commission has stressed that artificial intelligence will not replace human decision-making.

Human oversight will remain at key points in the process, and the Agreement Checklist Assistant will not assume the decision-making functions of Commission Members.

Instead, the technology is intended to assist staff with the preliminary work involved in reviewing applications before they reach a Commission Member.

The Commission expects the system to improve the efficiency of the enterprise agreement approval process as it responds to increasing workloads and resourcing pressures.

Although the changes apply across industries, they are particularly relevant for ECEC employers involved in enterprise bargaining at a time of significant workforce and industrial relations activity across the sector.

The Early Childhood Education and Care Multi-Employer Enterprise Agreement 2024–2026, for example, has seen employers progressively added to its coverage since its approval in December 2024.

The Fair Work Commission's published information shows further employers continued to be added during 2026.

The agreement covers eligible employees performing specified work in long day care settings, including employees covered by the Children's Services Award and Educational Services (Teachers) Award.

The introduction of the Agreement Checklist Assistant does not change the substantive Fair Work requirements that ECEC employers must satisfy when making an enterprise agreement.

It does, however, change one practical aspect of how applications need to be prepared for lodgement.

For providers, one of the most immediate considerations will be maintaining a clean and accurate digital version of an agreement throughout the bargaining process.

A signed agreement that exists only as a scanned document may not be sufficient on its own.

Providers and industrial relations advisers should therefore consider the digital version of the agreement as part of document-control processes rather than something to recreate immediately before lodging an application.

Version control will also be important.

Where both signed and digital versions are required, the Commission says the electronic version must contain identical content to the signed agreement, apart from signatures.

This creates a straightforward but important governance consideration: providers need to know which version represents the agreement actually made by employees.

Failing to provide the required digital agreement could result in delays.

The Commission has advised that applicants who do not provide a digital copy will be contacted and asked to supply one.

If it is still not provided, a Commission Member may request an explanation for the failure to comply with the Rules.

The Commission has specifically warned that this may delay the processing of the application.

For providers, the simplest approach will therefore be to incorporate the new requirement into enterprise bargaining and application processes from the outset.

Providers currently bargaining or considering a future enterprise agreement should review internal processes to ensure the new digital requirement is captured.

This may include maintaining the master agreement in an accepted digital format, establishing clear version control, checking that the final digital agreement matches the agreement put to employees and ensuring both signed and digital versions are available before an approval application is lodged.

Providers using external workplace relations or legal advisers should also ensure responsibilities for preparing and lodging the required versions are clearly understood.

The change may appear relatively administrative, but incomplete documentation can create avoidable delays at the final stages of what can already be a lengthy bargaining process.

The Agreement Checklist Assistant is also notable for another reason.

It represents another example of artificial intelligence being incorporated into government regulatory and administrative processes. In this instance, however, the Commission has been clear about the boundaries surrounding the technology.

The AI tool will assist with identifying information and potential issues. Specialist staff will review matters requiring further consideration, and Commission Members will continue to determine whether agreements are approved.

For ECEC providers, therefore, the immediate issue is less about AI making workplace relations decisions and more about being ready for an increasingly digital approval process.

As the Commission modernises the way it manages enterprise agreement applications, providers will need to ensure internal processes keep pace.

The practical message is simple: keep the final enterprise agreement accurate, maintain it in a machine-readable digital format and make sure the correct documentation is ready before lodging an application.

Further information is available in the Fair Work Commission's Statement about digital copies of enterprise agreements, Amendments to the Fair Work Commission Rules news item and the amended Fair Work Commission Rules 2024.