10/11/2009

Industrial Law (WA) - Appeal against decision of the Commission - Claim of unfair dismissal - Complaint about conduct of the Commissioner and Counsel - Consideration of documentary evidence - Decision turns on its own facts - Appeal dismissed

03/11/2009

Industrial Law (WA) - Supplementary reasons for decision - Notices pursuant to s78B Judiciary Act 1903 (Cth) not required - Question of jurisdiction was a constitutional or statutory fact - Order not to be disturbed despite error by Commissioner - Appeal dismissed

03/11/2009

Industrial Law (WA) - Supplementary reasons for decision - Notices pursuant to s78B Judiciary Act 1903 (Cth) not required - Question of jurisdiction was a constitutional or statutory fact - Order not to be disturbed despite error by Commissioner - Appeal dismissed

02/11/2009

Industrial Law (WA) - Leave to appeal to the Full Bench - Appeal raises important questions of law and jurisdiction - Leave to appeal granted Appeal against finding in relation to jurisdiction - Whether appellant is a trading corporation - Application of ‘activities test’ - Significance of statutory functions of local government - Character of trading activities carried out in the public interest - Importance of profit - Trading - Particular activities considered - Relevance of work of employees - Lack of evidence at first instance - Correction order issued; appeal otherwise dismissed

04/09/2009

Industrial Law (WA) -Application under s62(2) Industrial Relations Act 1979 (WA) by organisation to alter registered rules - Purpose of alteration to clarify membership rule - Statutory criteria met - Requirements of s62(3) not relevant to s62(2) - Application granted

02/09/2009

Industrial Law (WA) - s54(1) Application for registration of organisation of employers - Compliance with statutory criteria - Compliance with elections criteria -Whether Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) applies where members of association may be ‘constitutional corporations’ - Application falls within ‘non-excluded matters’ - Application granted

19/08/2009

Industrial Law (WA) - Leave to appeal to the Full Bench - Consideration of public interest requirement and procedural nature of decision - Leave to appeal granted Appeal against order of the Commission that the hearing of jurisdiction be reopened - Effect of the Workplace Relations Act 1996 (Cth) on the jurisdiction of the Commission in relation to 'constitutional corporations' - question of onus of proof on jurisdictional question - Question of jurisdiction does not depend on discharging onus of proof, it is a Statutory/Comstintutional Fact - Commission Erred - Additional submissions to be provided on appropriate orders

02/06/2009

Industrial Law (WA) - Appeal against decision to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction - Decision based on answers by Full Bench to referred questions of law - No error in dismissing application - Inappropriate for Full Bench to reconsider its decision on questions of law - Appeal dismissed.

15/05/2009

Industrial Law (WA) - Appeal against interim order reinstating teacher to full duties - Public interest in considering the weight to be accorded to the loss of confidence of Director General in a teacher - Leave to appeal granted - Exercise of discretion - Whether there was an appealable error - Principles to be applied - Commission considered Director General's loss of confidence in employee - Whether adequate weight given to the Director General's loss of confidence in employee - Weight to be accorded dependent on facts and circumstances before the Commission - No identifiable error in the reasons - Appeal dismissed.

12/05/2009

Industrial Law (WA) - Application for adjournment to December 2009 - Appellant medically unfit until July 2009 - Adjournment application to December opposed - Concern about continued delay - Adjournment granted until August 2009 - Minute of proposed order

24/04/2009

Industrial Law (WA) - Application to be excused from filing appeal books - Appellant unrepresented - Consideration of procedural background - Limited materials relevant to appeal - Most documents already before Full Bench - Application granted - Minute of proposed order

03/04/2009

Industrial Law (WA) - Appeal against decision of the Public Service Appeal Board - Jurisdiction of the Full Bench to hear appeals from Public Service Appeal Board under the Industrial Relations Act 1979 (WA) - Submissions from parties received on question of jurisdiction - State Government Insurance Commission v Johnson (1996) 76 WAIG 4142 applied - No jurisdiction to hear appeal - Appeal dismissed.

17/03/2009

Industrial Law (WA) - Appeal against decision of the Commission - Claim for denied benefits under a contract of employment - Prisoner - Prisoner worked as cook whilst imprisoned pursuant to s95 of the Prisons Act 1981 (WA) and reg 43 of the Prisons Regulations 1982 (WA) - Whether prisoner an employee - Work within context of statutory scheme - Intent to enter into employment contract - No intent to contract - Appeal dismissed

02/02/2009

Industrial Law (WA) - Appeal pursuant to s49 of the Industrial Relations Act 1979 (WA) against decision of the Commission - Government officer - School psychologist - Disciplinary action for breach of discipline pursuant to Part V, Public Sector Management Act 1994 (WA) - Procedural fairness - Onus of proof - Whether documents relevant to inquiry not provided to employee - Commissioner erred in deciding this could not be ascertained and therefore procedural unfairness established. Cross contention by respondent - Procedural fairness - Whether procedural fairness denied - Content of procedural fairness - Authorities considered - Whether practical injustice occurred - Origninal complaints, with inconsistances to later documents not provided - Possible submissions on credibility - Practical injustice established - Appeal dismissed.

18/12/2008

Industrial Law (WA) - Appeal against decision of the Commission - Denied contractual benefits of notice and bonus payment - Whether unfair hearing - Whether proceedings amounted to an apprehension of bias - Video record of proceedings viewed on appeal- Tone and manner of conduct of hearing - Whether interference in cross-examination amounted to an error of law - Adequacy of reasons for decision - Appeal allowed - Decision quashed - Matter remitted to the Commission for hearing and determination.

17/12/2008

Industrial Law (WA) - Appeal against decision of the Public Service Arbitrator – Application for leave to intervene in appeal - Application dismissed. Redundancy and redeployment - Further submissions about application of regulations 4AA and 4A of the Public Sector (Redeployment and Redundancy) Regulations 1994 (WA) - Submissions provided - Construction of notice requirements in reg 4AA(1) and reg 4A(2) - Regulations 4AA and 4A did not apply - No decision taken to abolish office and make officer surplus to requirements - Notice not required to be provided to officer - Appeal dismissed.

13/11/2008

Industrial Law (WA) - Questions of law referred to the Full Bench pursuant to s27(1)(u) of the Industrial Relations Act 1979 (WA) (the Act) - Application for denial of contractual benefits referred under s29(1)(b)(ii) of the Act - Jurisdiction of the Commission with respect to employees and employers of constitutional corporations - Whether s16 of the Workplace Relations Act 1996 (Cth) (the WRA) excludes the jurisdiction of the Commission to enquire into and deal with claims referred to it under s29(1)(b)(ii) by an employee or former employee of a constitutional corporation - Whether the WRA covers a field which includes this jurisdiction - Whether this would be contrary to s106 of the Constitution - Whether the Workplace Relations Regulations 2006 (the WRR) ‘save’ the jurisdiction of the Commission over some claims - Questions answered - Commission’s jurisdiction is excluded.

13/11/2008

Industrial Law (WA) - Application pursuant to s62(2) of the Industrial Relations Act 1979 (WA) for the Full Bench to authorise registration of alteration to registered rule - Qualification for membership rule - Application made following refusal of earlier application due to ambiguity and uncertainty - Statutory framework of s62(2) applications - Statutory criteria satisfied - Defect in earlier application rectified - Application granted.

05/11/2008

Industrial Law (WA) - Application pursuant to s62(2) of the Industrial Relations Act 1979 (WA) for the Full Bench to authorise registration of alteration to registered rule - Whether relevant rule about qualification for membership - Proposed rule about mechanics of processing membership applications - Jurisdiction of the Full Bench to make authorisation - Application dismissed.

16/10/2008

Industrial Law (WA) – Application made under s62(2) of the Industrial Relations Act 1979 (WA) to authorise registration of alteration of rules of a registered organisation – Qualification for membership rule – Statutory framework of s62(2) applications – Alteration included extending membership to independent contractors – Intention of the legislature was against an organisation consisting of employees and independent contractors - Application to invoke s58(3) - Whether applicable application granted with excision of objectionable rule.

16/10/2008

Industrial Law (WA) – Application made under s62(2) of the Industrial Relations Act 1979 (WA) to authorise registration of alteration of rules of a registered organisation – Qualification for membership rule – Statutory framework of s62(2) applications – Alteration included extending membership to independent contractors – Intention of the legislature was against an organisation consisting of employees and independent contractors - Application to invoke s58(3) - Whether applicable application granted with excision of objectionable rule.

04/09/2008

Industrial Law (WA) - Appeal against decision of the Public Service Arbitrator -s44(7) application for compulsory conference - redundancy and redeployment - claim for entitlements under Public Sector Management Act 1994 (WA) (the PSMA), Public Sector Management (Redeployment and Redundancy) Regulations 1994 (WA) (the PSMRRR) and Corruption and Crime Commission Act 2003 (WA) (the CCC Act) - permanent officer under the PSMA appointed to staff of the CCC under the CCC Act - position abolished - statutory interpretation - interaction of the CCC Act, the PSMA and the PSMRRR - whether redundancy and redeployment entitlements owed under the PSMRRR -- entitlements not owed as CCC no longer the “employing authority” - whether permanent public service officer status retained - entitlement to appointment under s180(3) of CCC Act - absence of notice of abolition of office - additional submissions required.

06/08/2008

Industrial Law (WA) - Application by Registrar under s 84A of the Industrial Relations Act 1979 (WA) for enforcement of an order of the Commission - hospital services assistants (HSAs) - work ban on attending “Code Black” incidents - respondent in breach of order to direct members to and lift work ban for period of six weeks - contravention admitted - statutory framework of enforcement applications - factors to consider - lack of an undertaking - seriousness of contravention - circumstances in which order made - reasons for contravention - safety considerations of HSAs - nature of the contravention - respondent did not instruct members to comply with order - contravention wilful and deliberate - order in effect contravened each time a HSA did not attend Code Black due to the ban - consequences of contravention - duration - risk to public safety - status of contravener - mitigation - no prior record of contravention of Commission orders - admission of breach - deciding appropriate disposition - extrinsic materials - application of The Registrar of the Western Australian Industrial Relations Commission v The State School Teacher’s Union of WA (Incorporated) (2008) 88 WAIG 333 - role of the Full Bench in statutory enforcement scheme - maximum financial penalty - fixing appropriate financial penalty - consideration of mitigating factors in fixing financial penalty - financial penalty imposed.