Treasury Wine Estates Vintners Limited v Pearson [2019] FCAFC 21

Treasury Wine Estates Vintners Limited v Pearson [2019] FCAFC 21

The South Australian Employment Court had no jurisdiction to determine the appeal from the Industrial Court because federal jurisdiction, once engaged under the Fair Work Act, could not be transferred by State legislation, and the construction adopted by the Industrial Court as to cl 34.7 of the agreement was correct; penalty rates only applied in the absence of sufficient notice, not in addition to general shift loadings when notice was given.

Parties
Appellant (sad 74 of 2018), Respondent (sad 197 of 2018): Treasury Wine Estates Vintners Limited; Respondent (sad 74 of 2018), Appellant (sad 197 of 2018): Barry Pearson
Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
13 February 2019
Procedural Posture
Appeal / Judgment After Hearing of Cross Appeals
Outcome
Treasury's appeal dismissed as incompetent; Pearson's appeal dismissed; declaration made that orders of the South Australian Employment Court were made without jurisdiction and are of no force or effect.
Legal Topics
Federal Jurisdiction of State Courts, Enterprise Agreement Construction, Appeals Under Fair Work Act, Transfer of Federal Jurisdiction, Interpretation of Industrial Instruments
Constitutional Law Industrial Law Employment Law Federal Jurisdiction of State Courts Enterprise Agreement Construction Appeals Under Fair Work Act Transfer of Federal Jurisdiction Interpretation of Industrial Instruments

Case Brief

Summary, issues, holding and outcome

More case intelligence is available

Unlock the full research layer for this judgment.

Full judgment text Downloadable case file Legal principles 2 Authorities cited 35 Party arguments 2 Amounts and remedies 1
Sign in to unlock

Parties

Treasury Wine Estates Vintners Limited

Appellant (sad 74 of 2018), Respondent (sad 197 of 2018)

Barry Pearson

Respondent (sad 74 of 2018), Appellant (sad 197 of 2018)

Procedural Posture

Appeal / Judgment After Hearing of Cross Appeals

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether an internal appeal lay to the South Australian Employment Court from a decision of an industrial magistrate exercising small claims jurisdiction under s 548 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth)
  2. 2 Whether the State Act transferring unresolved appeals to the South Australian Employment Tribunal in Court Session validly transferred federal jurisdiction
  3. 3 Construction of cl 34.7 of the Treasury Wine Estates Central SA Region Vineyards Enterprise Agreement 2014-2017

Ratio Decidendi

The South Australian Employment Court had no jurisdiction to determine the appeal from the Industrial Court because federal jurisdiction, once engaged under the Fair Work Act, could not be transferred by State legislation, and the construction adopted by the Industrial Court as to cl 34.7 of the agreement was correct; penalty rates only applied in the absence of sufficient notice, not in addition to general shift loadings when notice was given.

Court Disposition

Treasury's appeal dismissed as incompetent; Pearson's appeal dismissed; declaration made that orders of the South Australian Employment Court were made without jurisdiction and are of no force or effect.

Orders

  • In SAD 74 of 2018: The appeal be dismissed as incompetent for want of jurisdiction.
  • In SAD 197 of 2018: Declaration that the purported orders made by the Full Bench of the South Australian Employment Tribunal were made without jurisdiction and are of no force or effect.