Commission has no jurisdiction to deal with termination of public service officer

The Commission has determined that it is unable to hear an unfair dismissal claim as the applicant was a public service officer whose termination must be dealt with by the Public Service Appeal Board (PSAB).

The applicant alleged he was unfairly terminated from his employment with the Rottnest Island Authority. He argued that s 80I(1)(d) of the Industrial Relations Act 1979 (WA) expressly excludes the PSAB from hearing an appeal concerning a ‘dismissal’ of a government officer. The applicant contended that, as a public service officer which is a subgroup of a government officer, he was precluded from appealing the decision to dismiss pursuant to the Act and had to apply to the general unfair dismissal jurisdiction of the Commission.

The respondent contended that s 80I(1)(d) of the Act provides that the PSAB has exclusive jurisdiction to hear and determine an appeal of the dismissal of a government officer. It claimed that the applicant’s claims should be dealt with by the PSAB.

Commissioner Walkington found that the applicant’s construction of s 80I(1)(d) of the Act was not correct. She found that all claims of dismissal by a government officer are to be dealt with by the PSAB, not the Commission.

Walkington C found that the Commission had no jurisdiction to deal with the applicant’s claim.

The applicant had also contended that the Public Service and Government Officers CSA General Agreement (Agreement) provides for unresolved disputes to be referred to the Commission. He submitted that he had followed the dispute resolution procedure in the Agreement and that since the dispute had not been resolved, he purports to refer the dispute to the Commission.

Walkington C found that the dispute resolution procedure contained in the Agreement could not confer jurisdiction on the Commission to deal with the matter where it was ousted by the jurisdiction of the PSAB.

The application was dismissed.

The decision can be read here.