Australian Building and Construction Commissioner v Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (Kiama Aged Care Centre Case) [2021] FCA 920

Federal Court of Australia

Australian Building and Construction Commissioner v Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (Kiama Aged Care Centre Case) [2021] FCA 920 File number: NSD 2057 of 2019

Judgment of: KATZMANN J

Date of judgment: 10 August 2021

Catchwords: INDUSTRIAL LAW — where union officials who held entry permits entered a building site to inquire into suspected contraventions of work health and safety laws, whether officials contravened s 497 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FW Act) by failing to produce their entry permits for inspection when requested to do so — where concrete pour scheduled for completion, whether actions of union officials interfered with the concrete pour and the union officials intentionally hindered or obstructed certain persons or otherwise acted in an improper manner contrary to s 500 of the FW Act — whether the conduct of one union official also contravened s 503 of the FW Act —where the union officials raised concerns about the safety of the concrete pour, and allegedly insisted it stop and stood on the internal roadway thereby preventing concrete trucks from entering, whether they organised or engaged in an unlawful picket under s 47 of the Building and Construction Industry (Improving Productivity) Act 2016 (Cth) (BCIIP Act) — whether raising concerns about safety matters constitutes advancing claims against the principal contractor in respect of its employment of employees or engagement of contractors within the meaning of s 47(2)(b)(i) of the BCIIP Act —whether union liable for the conduct of its officials

Legislation: Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (Cth) ss 2C, 15AA Building and Construction Industry (Improving Productivity) Act 2016 (Cth) ss 4, 6, 21, 47, 57, 66, 94, 111 Evidence Act 1995 (Cth) ss 59, 60, 140 Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) ss 12, 478, 494, 497, 500, 503, 512, 539, 550, 793 Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009 (Cth) ss 26, 27 Fair Work Regulations 2009 (Cth) reg 3.25 Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) ss 4, 17, 18, 19, 116, 117, 119, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 131, 132 Explanatory Memorandum, Building and Construction Industry (Improving Productivity) Bill 2013 (Cth) Explanatory Memorandum, Fair Work Bill 2008 (Cth) Australian Law Reform Commission, Evidence (Interim), (Report No 26, ALRC, 1985) Macquarie Dictionary (17th ed, Macquarie, 2017) Oxford English Dictionary (online)