Gregory Baker Wins 1st Casual-Conversion Test Against Macquarie With AI Help

3 articles · Updated · The Independent · Aug 20

Last week’s Fair Work Commission ruling said Gregory Baker must be treated as an ongoing part-time employee after Macquarie University rejected his 2025 bid to convert from casual status.
Baker, a computing academic who represented himself, said paid AI agents including ChatGPT Pro helped identify the conversion pathway, assemble submissions and anticipate counterarguments.
The case is being cast as a landmark because it was the first test of Labor’s 2024 employee-choice reforms, but its narrow facts and Baker’s technical expertise make it an unusual model for AI-led self-representation.
Fair Work’s tribunal setting also mattered: it is designed for users without lawyers, even as generative AI is driving more filings and reportedly lifting the commission’s workload 70% over three years.
The broader implication is mixed—AI may widen access to justice for digitally skilled users with focused disputes, while courts and tribunals face more low-quality claims and new risks such as prompt injection.