By Thomas Hurley -
Key decisions
- Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation v Kaizen Hospitals (Essendon) Pty Ltd [2015] FCAFC 23
- Australian Maritime Officers’ Union v Assistant Minister for Immigration and Border Protection [2015] FCAFC 45
- Fraser v Minister for Immigration and Border Protection [2015] FCAFC 48
- BZAFM v Minister for Immigration and Border Protection [2015] FCAFC 41
- Fair Work Ombudsman v Quest South Perth Holdings Pty Ltd [2015] FCAFC 37
- Toms v Harbour City Ferries Pty Ltd [2015] FCAFC 35
- Damorgold Pty Ltd v JAI Products Pty Ltd [2015] FCAFC 31
- Khouzame v All Seasons Air Pty Ltd [2015] FCAFC 28
- Sandhurst Trustees Ltd v Clarke [2015] FCAFC 21
Industrial Law
Power of agent to sign industrial agreement
In Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation v Kaizen Hospitals (Essendon) Pty Ltd [2015] FCAFC 23 (5 March 2015) an employer claimed that its agent had not had authority to sign an industrial agreement that was approved by the Fair Work Commission (FWC) and it should not have been approved under s 186 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth).
The employer failed before the initial Deputy President and on appeal to a Full Bench. The employer succeeded before a single Federal Court judge exercising jurisdiction under s 75(v) of the Constitution who quashed the decision of the FWC.
The union successfully appealed to the Full Court of the Federal Court which restored the decision of the FWC. Consideration by the Full Court of the difference between an appeal (or application for leave to appeal) within the FWC, establishing jurisdictional error in the Federal Court and an appeal on that question within the Federal Court.
The Full Court concluded the employer’s representative had apparent authority to act as a ‘bargaining representative’ (see s 185 Fair Work Act) to sign the agreements and they should stand.
