Australian Salaried Medical Officers' Federation v Peninsula Health [2023] FCA 939

Federal Court of Australia

Australian Salaried Medical Officers' Federation v Peninsula Health [2023] FCA 939 File number: VID 115 of 2021

Judgment of: BROMBERG J

Date of judgment: 11 August 2023

Catchwords: INDUSTRIAL LAW – representative proceeding pursuant to Pt IVA of the Federal Court of Australia Act 1976 (Cth) – junior doctors class action – application for relief under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) – alleged breaches of enterprise agreements – claim for unpaid entitlement to unrostered overtime – meaning of the phrase "authorised hours" in applicable enterprise agreements – whether authorisation may be constituted by a request, requirement or other approval given by the employer – whether authorisation impliedly given may engage the payment obligation imposed by the relevant enterprise agreements – whether only an authorisation given by the employer consistently with a mode or process (policy) adopted by the employer will suffice to engage the payment obligation – whether, as a matter of fact, unrostered overtime was impliedly "authorised" by the employer – employer policies dealing with overtime relevant to whether, as a matter of fact, authorisation may be implied – policies that are unknown or not applied unlikely to have a bearing on authorisation – whether estoppel is available as a defence to a claim of unpaid entitlements under an enterprise agreement – principles for proving loss in an underpayment claim in the absence of precise evidence of hours worked – application allowed in part – common questions determined

Legislation: Copyright Act 1968 (Cth) s 36(1) Evidence Act 1995 (Cth) ss 60, 81 and 136 Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) Pt 2-4, ss 50, 545, 546(3), 547 Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009 (Cth) Fair Work Regulations 2009 (Cth) reg 3.33(2) and reg 3.34 Federal Court of Australia Act 1976 (Cth) Pt IVA, s 21 Health Services Act 1988 (Vic) Workplace Relations Act 1996 (Cth)