R v Commonwealth Industrial Court; Australian Coal & Shale Employees' Federation, Ex p [1960] HCA 71

High Court of Australia Dixon C.J. Fullagar, Kitto, Menzies and Windeyer JJ. R v Commonwealth Industrial Court; Australian Coal & Shale Employees' Federation, Ex p [1960] HCA 71

ORDER Order absolute. Costs including costs of the order nisi to be paid by the respondent Association.

Cur. adv. vult.

The Court delivered the following written judgment:—

Oct. 10 Dixon C.J., Fullagar, Kitto, Menzies and Windeyer JJ.

To decide this case it is not necessary to go beyond the submission of the prosecutor for prohibition that the Commonwealth Industrial Court had no jurisdiction to interpret The Coal Mining Industry (Miners') Award 1954 N.S.W. because it is not an award within the meaning of s. 110 of the Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1904 to 1959 Cth which empowers the Court to interpret awards judicially (Seamen's Union of Australia v. Matthews [2] ) but not to make an interpretative determination of the character described in Pickard v. John Heine & Son Ltd. [3] .

1. (1957) 96 C.L.R. 529. 2. (1924) 35 C.L.R. 1. at pp. 6, 7.

The Miners' Award was made by the Coal Industry Tribunal under the Coal Industry Act Cth and so it is not an award as defined by the Conciliation and Arbitration Act itself; it is not by force of that Act an award which the court is given power to interpret. It is, however, provided by s. 36 of the Coal Industry Act that an award made thereunder "has effect in all respects as if it were an award of the Commission" (i.e., the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission), and further, that "the provisions of the Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1904-1956 under which awards of the Commission may be enforced apply in relation to such an award or order made by the Tribunal as if it were an award of the Commission". These are the provisions upon which the respondent relied to bring the award of the Coal Industry Tribunal within the interpretative jurisdiction of the Commonwealth Industrial Court conferred by s. 110, but they have not the operation claimed for them.