Senator Murray asked the Minister representing the Minister for Workplace Relations and Small Business, upon notice, on 26 November 1997:

(1) With reference to an answer to a question on notice asked during the 1997-98 Budget Supplementary Estimates hearings of the Economics Legislation Committee concerning the Industrial Relations portfolio, subprogram 1.2—Legal and Industry:

Can a comparison of the industrial relations systems' nine unfair dismissal jurisdictions in 1997 as compared to 1996 be provided at the earliest date following 31 December 1997.

(2) At the earliest date following 31 December 1997, could details of research undertaken on the number and percentage of unfair dismissal applications which apply to small businesses with less than 15 employees, compared with total unfair dismissal applications for 1997, in all nine unfair dismissal jurisdictions be provided.

Senator Alston (Communications, the Information Economy and the Arts) —The Minister for Workplace Relations and Small Business has provided the following answer to the honourable senator's questions:

(1) A comparison of unfair dismissal applications in all jurisdictions in 1997 as compared to 1996 is as follows.

Notes 1. Federal and State figures are based on calendar months, and incorporate estimates and interpolations, where original data not available. Official and unofficial sources are used.

2. The SA Commission has advised that figures for the months of February, April and June 1997 were inflated by applications lodged on behalf of over 100 workers each month who were made redundant from SAMCorp (a large SA meat processing corporation) in February and April and from Bells (Sizzler) in June.

3. Tasmanian State figures are unofficial only. Official monthly figures are not produced by the Tasmanian Commission. The official total figures for the 1995/1996 and

1996/1997 financial years were contained in the Commission's annual reports for those years.

4. There are no separate Territory unfair dismissal systems, and there has been no separate Victorian unfair dismissal system after 1996.

(2) In relation to Federal unfair dismissal applications, the Australian Industrial Registry is collecting information on the number and percentage of unfair dismissal applications which apply to small businesses with 15 or less employees, for each month from December 1997 to May 1998. This information is being forwarded to Senator Murray. The information relating to applications from 1 December 1997 to 31 January 1998 is as follows.

In relation to State unfair dismissal applications, it is not possible to provide information on the number and percentage of unfair dismissal applications which apply to small businesses with 15 or less employees, as no State collects data on the size of respondents to unfair dismissal applications.