The applicant referred a matter to the Commission in March 2024 under the Public Sector Management Act 1994. The respondent filed a response to the application, citing that the applicant’s guilty plea to criminal charges met the conditions required for his subsequent dismissal.

After communication with the applicant and the respondent, the Commission scheduled a conciliation conference on 21 June 2024. After a request for an adjournment by the applicant’s representative, a further conference was scheduled for 18 July 2024, at which the applicant’s representative also did not appear, and later discontinued their representation due to illness and resource constraints.

Over a period of several months in early 2025, the Commission sought clarification from the applicant’s representative regarding the applicant’s intention to proceed with or withdraw the matter.  The representative was warned that a lack of future communication would result in a show cause hearing being listed, at which the applicant would be required to show cause as to why the matter should not be dismissed pursuant to s 27(1) of the Industrial Relations Act 1979. Subsequently a hearing was scheduled for 4 August 2025, at which the applicant and respondent did not appear.

Commissioner Walkington found the applicant had failed to prosecute his case without adequate reason and had failed to respond to several communications from the Commission. For these reasons, and along with the applicant’s failure to appear at the August 2025 hearing, the Commissioner concluded that the applicant did not have sufficient interest for the application to be sustained. Accordingly, an order was issued dismissing the application for want of prosecution.

The decision can be read here.