The role of industrial magistrate allows certain magistrates to deal exclusively with and specialise in certain types of industrial matters in New South Wales including matters covered by both New South Wales and Commonwealth legislation.

Magistrates have been a part of the New South Wales industrial system since the early days of the British colony established in 1788.

The role of the justice of the peace regulating the master and servant relation has been a long-standing one in the English common law tradition.

This role was carried over into the administration of justice from the early days of the penal settlement established by the British in Port Jackson (now Sydney) in the colony of New South Wales.

Where either party breached the contract, there was recourse to the law in the normal courts of the land.

Dr Geoffrey Partington outlines an example in 1858 where German masons who were brought to Australia to work on the Victorian railways.

The growing maturity of the New South Wales colony led to the employment of permanent paid magistrates.

The process of gazetting is simply to give a magistrate a dual role or appointment.

For example, the Australian Government gave power to Industrial Magistrates to deal with matters under the Workplace Relations Act 1996 (Cth) through the now repealed section 177A.

Civil proceedings are generally restricted to the recovery of unpaid wages or leave by employees against employers.

In 1955, the then Chief Industrial Magistrate, Harry Isles, dealt with a claim by Frank Lambeth, a waiter sacked by prominent Sydney identify and businessman Abe Saffron.

Lambeth was sacked after giving evidence against the company supporting a claim that it had not paid a certain debt.

The employee's mouth was then stuffed with sawdust and glue and then finally he was sprayed in the face with a firehose.