Commonwealth of Australia v Helicopter Resources Pty Ltd [2020] HCA 16

HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA

KIEFEL CJ, BELL, GAGELER, KEANE, NETTLE, GORDON AND EDELMAN JJ

COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA APPELLANT

AND

HELICOPTER RESOURCES PTY LTD & ORS RESPONDENTS

Commonwealth of Australia v Helicopter Resources Pty Ltd [2020] HCA 16 Date of Hearing: 10 October 2019 & 5 February 2020 Date of Judgment: 24 April 2020 S217/2019

ORDER

1. The first respondent's application for leave to file a notice of contention is refused.

2. Appeal allowed.

3. Set aside orders 1 and 2(a) of the orders of the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia made on 15 February 2019 and, in their place, order that the appeal to the Full Court be dismissed.

4. The appellant pay the first respondent's reasonable costs on a solicitor/client basis.

On appeal from the Federal Court of Australia

Representation

S P Donaghue QC, Solicitor-General of the Commonwealth, with T M Begbie and J D Watson for the appellant (instructed by Australian Government Solicitor)

J T Gleeson SC with T J Brennan and K I H Lindeman for the first respondent (instructed by Norton White)

Submitting appearances for the second and third respondents

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

CATCHWORDS

Commonwealth of Australia v Helicopter Resources Pty Ltd

Criminal practice – Accusatorial system of criminal justice – Companion rule – Where subpoena issued for employee to attend to give evidence at coronial inquest into manner and cause of another employee's death – Where employer and Commonwealth of Australia prosecuted for alleged failures to comply with duty to ensure worker health and safety – Where s 87(1)(b) of Evidence Act 2011 (ACT) relevantly entailed that representation by employee of party relating to matter within scope of employment taken as admission by that party – Whether invocation of investigative power to compel employee to give evidence about matter with respect to which employer stands charged amounts to compelling employer to give evidence contrary to rule that accused not required to assist Crown in proving its case.