United Firefighters' Union of Australia v Fire Rescue Victoria [2024] FCAFC 84

Federal Court of Australia

United Firefighters' Union of Australia v Fire Rescue Victoria [2024] FCAFC 84 File number(s): VID 1108 of 2023

Judgment of: COLVIN, RAPER AND DOWLING JJ

Date of judgment: 20 June 2024

Catchwords: ADMINISTRATIVE LAW – application for declarations and orders for remittal on the basis that the Fair Work Commission failed to exercise its jurisdiction comprising private arbitral powers under the parties' agreed dispute resolution clause – whether the Commission was required when "settling the dispute", within the meaning of the clause, to determine all the issues between the parties and was not able to defer part of the argument to a later date to determine with a related application – whether the Commission was required when "settling the dispute", within the meaning of the clause, to opine as to the validity of a ministerial direction – whether the Commission was able to take into account when declining the relief sought by the applicant, the existence of the ministerial direction, which would mean that the respondent had competing obligations under that direction and an order of the Commission if the relief were granted – application dismissed

Legislation: Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) ss 186(6), 562, 595, 603, 604, 738(b), 739 Federal Court Rules 2011 (Cth) r 9.12(2) Fire Rescue Victoria Act 1958 (Vic) ss 8, 25A Fire Rescue Victoria Operational Employees Interim Enterprise Agreement 2020 cl 21 Div A, cl 26 Div B, cl 42 Div A, cl 49 Div B

Cases cited: Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union v ALS Industrial Australia Pty Ltd [2015] FCAFC 123; 235 FCR 305 Bradford v Bryan (1741) Willes 268 Cape Lambert Resources Ltd v MCC Australia Sanjin Mining Pty Ltd [2013] WASCA 66; 298 ALR 666 Coal and Allied Operations Pty Ltd v Australian Industrial Relations Commission [2000] HCA 47; 203 CLR 194 Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union v Wagstaff Piling Pty Ltd [2012] FCAFC 87; 203 FCR 371 Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union v Australian Industrial Relations Commission [2001] HCA 16; 203 CLR 645 Dranichnikov v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs [2003] HCA 26; 77 ALJR 1088 Dresser v Finnis (1855) 25 LTOS 81 Duggan v Metropolitan Fire and Emergency Services Board [2017] FCAFC 112 Endeavour Energy v Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia [2016] FCAFC 82; 244 FCR 178 Glen Cameron Nominees Pty Ltd v Transport Workers' Union of Australia (No 2) [2017] FCA 1515 Glen Cameron Nominees Pty Ltd v Transport Workers' Union of Australia [2017] FCA 1026 Hewitt v Hewitt (1841) 1 QB 110 Hodgkinson v Fernie (1857) 3 CB (NS) 189 Johnson v Latham (1850) 19 LJQB 329 Maersk Crewing Australia Pty Ltd v Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (No 2) [2020] FCA 1694 Re Cram; Ex parte Newcastle Wallsend Coal Company Pty Ltd (1987) 163 CLR 140 Re Goddard & Mansfield (1850) 19 LJQB 305 Re Marshall and Dresser (1842) 3 QB 878 Richardson v Worseley (1850) Exch 613 Rinehart v Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd [2019] HCA 13; 267 CLR 514 Rinehart v Welker [2012] NSWCA 95; 95 NSWLR 221 Simpson v The Commissioners of Inland Revenue [1914] 2 KB 842 TCL Air Conditioner (Zhongshan) Co Ltd v Judges of the Federal Court of Australia [2013] HCA 5; 251 CLR 533 Tomlin v Forwich Corpn (1836) 5 Ad & E 147 Transit Systems West Services Pty Ltd v Australian Rail, Tram and Bus Industry Union [2020] FCAFC 193; 281 FCR 309 United Firefighters' Union of Australia v Honourable Jaclyn Symes (No 2) [2024] FCA 510 United Firefighters' Union of Australia v Metropolitan Fire and Emergency Services Board [2019] FWCFB 184 Walter Rau Neusser Oel und Fett AG v Cross Pacific Trading Ltd [2005] FCA 1102 Wilkinson v Page (1842) 1 Hare 276 Mustill MJ and Boyd SC, The Law and Practice of Commercial Arbitration in England (2nd edition, Butterworths, 1989) Walton A, Russell on the Law of Arbitration (17th ed, Stevens & Sons Limited, 1963)