Commissioner of Police v Eaton [2013] HCA 2

HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA

HEYDON, CRENNAN, KIEFEL, BELL AND GAGELER JJ

COMMISSIONER OF POLICE APPELLANT

AND

DAVID GRANT EATON & ANOR RESPONDENTS

Commissioner of Police v Eaton [2013] HCA 2 8 February 2013 S230/2012

ORDER

1. Appeal allowed.

2. Set aside orders (a), (b) and (c) of the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of New South Wales made on 6 March 2012 and, in their place, order that the appeal to the Court of Appeal be dismissed.

3. Set aside the orders of the Full Bench of the Industrial Relations Commission of New South Wales made on 24 March 2012.

4. The appellant pay the first respondent's costs of the proceedings in this Court.

On appeal from the Supreme Court of New South Wales

Representation

M J Leeming SC with M C L Seck for the appellant (instructed by Bartier Perry)

S Crawshaw SC with P F Lowson and A L Howell for the first respondent (instructed by Walter Madden Jenkins)

Submitting appearance for the second respondent

Notice: This copy of the Court's Reasons for Judgment is subject to formal revision prior to publication in the Commonwealth Law Reports.

CATCHWORDS

Commissioner of Police v Eaton

Jurisdiction – Subject matter jurisdiction – Industrial Relations Commission of New South Wales ("IR Commission") – Probationary police officer dismissed by Commissioner of Police under s 80(3) of the Police Act 1990 (NSW) – Probationary police officer applied to IR Commission under s 84(1) of the Industrial Relations Act 1996 (NSW) claiming dismissal was harsh, unreasonable or unjust – Whether IR Commission has jurisdiction under Pt 6 of Ch 2 of the Industrial Relations Act to determine unfair dismissal claim regarding dismissal under s 80(3) of the Police Act.

Statutes – Statutory interpretation – Implied repeal – Part 6 of Ch 2 of the Industrial Relations Act 1996 (NSW) allows public sector employees to challenge dismissal as harsh, unreasonable or unjust – Section 80(3) of the Police Act 1990 (NSW) permits Commissioner of Police to dismiss probationary police officers from the New South Wales Police Force at any time and without reason – Inconsistency and incoherence between provisions of the Industrial Relations Act and the Police Act – Whether Parliament intended the general provisions of the Industrial Relations Act to affect the operation of the earlier specific provisions of the Police Act.