2023 WAIRC 00687
APPEAL AGAINST A DECISION OF THE PUBLIC SERVICE APPEAL BOARD IN MATTER NUMBER PSAB 60/2022 GIVEN ON 5 MAY 2023
WESTERN AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS COMMISSION

CITATION : 2023 WAIRC 00687

CORAM
: CHIEF COMMISSIONER S J KENNER
COMMISSIONER T EMMANUEL
COMMISSIONER T KUCERA

HEARD
:
WEDNESDAY, 19 JULY 2023

DELIVERED : 14 AUGUST 2023

FILE NO. : FBA 2 OF 2023

BETWEEN
:
ROBERT DONALD GODDARD
Appellant

AND

GOVERNING COUNCIL OF NORTH METROPOLITAN TAFE
Respondent

Catchwords : Industrial law (WA) - Appeal instituted from a decision of Public Service Appeal Board - Full Bench has no jurisdiction to hear appeals from Public Service Appeal Board - Appeal dismissed
Legislation : Industrial Relations Act 1979 (WA) s 49, s 49(1), s 49(2)
Result : Appeal dismissed for want of jurisdiction
REPRESENTATION:
Counsel:
APPELLANT : IN PERSON
RESPONDENT : MR D ANDERSON OF COUNSEL
Solicitors:
RESPONDENT : STATE SOLICITOR’S OFFICE

Case(s) referred to in reasons:
Henryk Turlinski v Norman Baker, Managing Director, Pilbara Institute [2014] WAIRC 00263; (2014) 94 WAIG 341
Hill v Commissioner, Corrective Services, Dept. of Corrective Services [2009] WAIRC 00166; (2009) 89 WAIG 417
State Government Insurance Commission v Johnson (1996) 76 WAIG 4142


Reasons for Decision

THE FULL BENCH:
1 By a notice of appeal filed on 11 May 2023, the appellant purported to file an appeal under s 49(2) of the Industrial Relations Act 1979 (WA) from a decision of the Public Service Appeal Board in application PSAB 60 of 2022. The following day, on 12 May 2023, the respondent filed an application that the appeal should be dismissed, as not being within the jurisdiction of the Full Bench under s 49 of the Act. In light of that application, the procedural requirement for the filing of appeal books was suspended, pending the hearing and determination of the respondent’s application to dismiss the appeal.
2 At the direction of the Full Bench, the Registry, on 15 May 2023, provided to the appellant a copy of the decision of the Full Bench of the Commission in Henryk Turlinski v Norman Baker, Managing Director, Pilbara Institute [2014] WAIRC 00263; (2014) 94 WAIG 341. That decision of the Full Bench refers to and confirms a line of authority to the effect that no appeal lies to the Full Bench from a decision of the Appeal Board under s 49 of the Act.
3 The appellant considered that the decision of the Full Bench in Turlinski was not similar to the circumstances of his case. He did not indicate that he would discontinue or otherwise not proceed with his appeal. Accordingly, given the application by the respondent to dismiss the appeal, that application was listed for hearing on 19 July 2023. In connection with the application to dismiss, the respondent filed a written outline of submissions, referring to previous authority of the Commission, including Turlinski, where the Full Bench has consistently confirmed that it has no jurisdiction to hear an appeal of the present kind.
4 After hearing from the appellant, the Full Bench announced its decision that the appeal must be dismissed, with reasons to be published in due course.
5 In Turlinski, the Full Bench referred to earlier authority confirming the absence of jurisdiction in the Full Bench to hear appeals of the present kind, including State Government Insurance Commission v Johnson (1996) 76 WAIG 4142 and Hill v Commissioner, Corrective Services, Dept. of Corrective Services [2009] WAIRC 00166; (2009) 89 WAIG 417. As those cases confirm, a decision of the Appeal Board is not a decision of ‘the Commission constituted by a Commissioner’, for the purposes of s 49(1) of the Act. That being so, for the purposes of s 49(2) of the Act, no appeal is being brought from ‘any decision of the Commission’. Accordingly, the appeal must be dismissed.