Olliffe v Industrial Relations Secretary, in respect of the Department of Communities and Justice [2023] NSWIRComm 1081

Industrial Relations Commission New South Wales Medium Neutral Citation: Olliffe v Industrial Relations Secretary, in respect of the Department of Communities and Justice [2023] NSWIRComm 1081 Hearing dates: 26 and 27 June 2023 and 4 August 2023 Date of orders: 4 August 2023 Decision date: 04 August 2023 Jurisdiction: Industrial Relations Commission Before: Commissioner O'Sullivan Decision: Appeal is successful in part and the appropriate disciplinary action is: (1) Provision of a reprimand pursuant to ss 69(4)(g) of the Government Sector Employment Act 2013 (NSW); and (2) The reduction in rank from Principal Correction Officer to Senior Correctional Officer is limited to a period of six months from the date in which it occurred. Catchwords: Employment Law- hearing de novo – disciplinary action – what constitutes misconduct for the purposes of s 69 of the Government Employment Sector Act 2013 (NSW) – whether misconduct occurred and if so whether the disciplinary penalty imposed was correct in all the circumstances Legislation Cited: Government Sector Employment Act 2013 (NSW) Industrial Relations Act 1996 (NSW) Cases Cited: Allison v Commissioner of Police [2018] NSWIRComm 1005. Eastwood v Industrial Relations Secretary on behalf of Department of Communities and Justice [2021] NSWIRComm 1014 Lusty v Industrial Relations Secretary on behalf of Department of Communities and Justice [2023] NSWIRComm 1016 Marroun v State Transit Authority [2017] NSWCA 273 McDiarmid v Commissioner of Police [2012] NSWIRComm 100 Pillai v Messiter (No 2) (1989) 16 NSWLR 197 Texts Cited: NIL Category: Principal judgment Parties: Brett Olliffe (appellant)