United Firefighters' Union of Australia v Country Fire Authority [2015] FCAFC 1

FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

United Firefighters' Union of Australia v Country Fire Authority [2015] FCAFC 1 Citation: United Firefighters' Union of Australia v Country Fire Authority [2015] FCAFC 1

Appeal from: United Firefighters Union of Australia v Country Fire Authority [2014] FCA 17

Parties: UNITED FIREFIGHTERS' UNION OF AUSTRALIA v COUNTRY FIRE AUTHORITY

File number: VID 84 of 2014

Judges: PERRAM, ROBERTSON AND GRIFFITHS JJ

Date of judgment: 8 January 2015

Catchwords: CONSTITUTIONAL LAW – whether Country Fire Authority, established by the Country Fire Authority Act 1958 (Vic), a trading corporation within Commonwealth Constitution s 51(xx) CONSTITUTIONAL LAW – whether Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) beyond the legislative power of the Commonwealth in its application to clauses 26, 27, 28 and 122 of the Country Fire Authority United Firefighters' Union of Australia Operational Staff Enterprise Agreement 2010 by reason of the principle in Melbourne Corporation v The Commonwealth (1947) 74 CLR 31 and Re Australian Education Union, Ex parte Victoria (1995) 184 CLR 188 INDUSTRIAL LAW – whether clauses 13, 14 and 16 of the Country Fire Authority/United Firefighters' Union of Australia Operational Staff Enterprise Agreement 2010 (Agreement) objectionable terms for the purposes of s 12 of the Fair Work Act 2009 and by reason of ss 253(1)(b) and 356 of that Act of no effect – whether consultation clauses not "consultation terms" as required by s 205 of the Fair Work Act 2009 and of no effect so that the Model Consultation Term prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009 (Cth) taken to be a term of the Agreement – whether subclauses 15.1.2 and 15.1.3 of the Agreement were invalid dispute resolution clauses and invalid and of no effect – whether subclause 38.3 of the Agreement invalid and of no effect