Industrial Relations Commission of New South Wales CITATION : HREA of NSW v Commission for Children and Young People [2002] NSWIRComm 200 PARTIES : Health and Research Employees' Association of New South Wales Commission for Children and Young People FILE NUMBER: IRC No 3114 of 2002 CORAM: Grayson DP CATCHWORDS : Application for declaratory relief - absence of jurisdiction - definition of prohibited person for purposes of the Act - application dismissed LEGISLATION CITED : Child Protection (Prohibited Employment) Act 1998 s 9 CASES CITED : A v Commission for Children and Young People (2001) 107 IR 211 Commission for Children and Young People v Attorney General [2002] NSWSC 582 HEARING DATES: 07/16/2002 EXTEMPORE JUDGMENT DATE : 07/16/2002 APPLICANT Health and Research Employees' Association of NSW LEGAL REPRESENTATIVES: RESPONDENT Commission for Children and Young People Solicitors: Crown Solicitors JUDGMENT: - 1 - INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS COMMISSION OF NEW SOUTH WALES CORAM: GRAYSON, DP Tuesday, 16th July 2002 Matter No IRC 3114 of 2002 HEALTH AND RESEARCH EMPLOYEES' ASSOCIATION OF NEW SOUTH WALES AND THE COMMISSION FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE Application by the Health and Research Employees' Association of New South Wales pursuant to s9 of the Child Protection (Prohibited Employment) Act 1998 DECISION EX-TEMPORE [2002] NSWIRComm 200 1 Having been appraised of the circumstances of the applicant's proceedings before the Criminal Courts in 1973, and having the benefit of both the decision of his Honour Hungerford J in A v Commission for Children and Young People (2001) 107 IR at 211, and also, more recently, the decision of his Honour Dowd J in the Supreme Court of New South Wales in Commission for Children and Young People v Attorney General [2002] NSWSC at 582, I propose to follow the decision of his Honour Hungerford J, and having done so, it becomes clear that this Commission has no jurisdiction to entertain the application presently before it. 2 The precursor to such an absence of jurisdiction is, of course, the fact that the applicant presently before the Commission does not come within the definition of a prohibited person for the purpose of the Child Protection (Prohibited Employment) Act 1998. 3 I dismiss the application accordingly, and would add that there appears to me to be no impediment whatsoever to the restoration of the employment relationship which existed prior to the action giving rise to these proceedings. 4 Before leaving the matter, I would also note, and acknowledge with appreciation, the position taken by the Commission for Children and Young People, which would have raised no objection to the appropriate declaration being made in this case, had there been jurisdiction to make such a declaration. The applicant is not a prohibited person, there is no jurisdiction to make the declaration, and the application is dismissed accordingly. DISCLAIMER - Every effort has been made to comply with suppression orders or statutory provisions prohibiting publication that may apply to this judgment or decision. The onus remains on any person using material in the judgment or decision to ensure that the intended use of that material does not breach any such order or provision. Further enquiries may be directed to the Registry of the Court or Tribunal in which it was generated.