In proceedings commenced by two unions to vary the Municipal Employees (Western Australia) Award 2021, the Western Australian Local Government Association is acting as agent for several employer parties.  The WALGA acts for those employers because it is registered as an industrial agent under the IR Act. The WALGA then additionally applied to be permitted to intervene in its own right, as the representative of the local government sector more broadly. It did so because the proceedings have potential ramifications for the local government sector, and because its local government employer members will be directly affected by the outcome in the proceedings.

The application to intervene was opposed by all of the represented parties, other than those the WALGA acts for.

The Senior Commissioner regarded the WALGA as having an indirect, but not a direct, interest in the proceedings. As a representative body, it did not have the direct interest that its members have, as it is not a registered employer organisation under the IR Act. However, having an indirect interest, meant that the Commission had a discretion to permit the WALGA to intervene, In exercising the discretion, the requirements of natural justice are the primary consideration.

The Senior Commissioner found that natural justice did not require that the WALGA be permitted to intervene, because the indirect interest it has could be advanced in other ways, namely by local governments themselves applying to intervene should they wish to do so.  The Senior Commissioner recognised that while efficiencies might be achieved by the WALGA intervening, this was not a significant factor in favour of permitting intervention. It would not, for instance, prevent individual local governments from also seeking to be separately represented.

On the other hand, the potential difficulties associated with permitting the WALGA to intervene were significant. The WALGA has a potential conflict between its interest, and those of the individual local governments it currently acts as agent for. If it ceases to act for those local governments, those local governments may then be disadvantaged by having to incur costs of alternative representation, or being unrepresented. The WALGA’s intervention would potentially also mean it is acting contrary to the Code of Conduct for industrial agents. These factors weighed against permission being given.

The Senior Commissioner dismissed the intervention application.

The Decision can be read here.