Major court and tribunal decisions in Australia in 2013

Abstract

This article examines a number of decisions of the High Court of Australia, the Federal Court of Australia, the Fair Work Commission and the Local Court of NSW from 2013 regarding industrial law issues including the application of the Fair Work Act 2009. In the decision of Commonwealth Bank of Australia v Barker, the Full Federal Court confirmed the existence of an implied term of mutual trust and confidence in an Australian employment contract. The Federal Court of Australia's decision in Warrell v Walton examined the right of parties to be represented before the Fair Work Commission. The High Court of Australia's decision in Construction Forestry Mining & Energy Union v Mammoet Australia Pty Ltd allowed an appeal from the decision of the Federal Court of Australia which had held that accommodation provided to fly-in/fly-out employees constituted payment for the purposes of a protected industrial action. The interpretation of section 90(2) of the Fair Work Act 2009 received its first judicial analysis in a decision by the New South Wales Local Court in Stephen Edward Ryan v Whitehaven Coal Mining Pty Ltd. Lastly, with the Fair Work Commission's specific bullying jurisdiction to commence on 1 January 2014, the decision of Harris v Workpac Pty Ltd provided an example of an approach that the Fair Work Commission may take in its newly conferred jurisdiction.