A record 44,039 Australians lodged claims at the Fair Work Commission between July 2025 and April 2026.

Those claims cover everything from unfair dismissal and underpayment disputes to bullying, sexual harassment and, most recently, arguments over the right to disconnect.

In late August, the commission declared it’s facing an “unprecedented growth in its workload” – linking a 70% surge in claims over the past three years to the growing popularity of artificial intelligence (AI).

A survey of more than 400 unfair dismissal applicants from earlier this year revealed about 40% had used AI, mainly ChatGPT. It also found “sycophantic or hallucinatory AI outputs may reinforce the applicant’s position, elevating their expectations” of winning their case.

That’s why, from October 20 onwards, the Fair Work Commission will enforce new rules on how to use AI and properly disclose it.

Here’s what you need to know about those rules, and why trusting AI too blindly could end up costing you money and your case.

What are the new rules?

Under new guidelines and updated forms, anyone who uses generative AI to help prepare a document lodged in a commission case will be required........

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