In July 2001 Senior Deputy President Lacy met with Mr Thavalingam Thavarajah, a member of the Board that oversights the rules of industrial tribunals in Malaysia, to discuss the role of the Commission.

During August 2001 Commissioner Smith met with Mr Chung Dongyoung, a member of the Supreme Council of the Millennium Democratic Party, National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, to discuss the work of the Commission, particularly the role of conciliation and arbitration.

In September 2001, with the assistance of the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), the Commission facilitated a study tour by Mr Mabathoana Khotle and Mr Bro-Matthew Shinguadja, the heads of the industrial tribunals of Lesotho and Namibia. They were accompanied by Mr Charles Nupen, Chief Technical Advisor with the ILO. Whilst in Australia they met with a number of Members of the Commission, senior Registry officials, representatives of peak employer and union bodies and the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations.

Commissioner Gay met with several delegations from the Peoples Republic of China during the reporting period:

• a Labour Management delegation from Guangdong Province in November 2001;

• a delegation from the Shandong Federation of Trade Unions in December 2001; and

• a delegation from the Liaoning Provincial Government in June 2002.