Knight v Visionstream Australia Pty Ltd (No 2) [2017] FCA 1562

Knight v Visionstream Australia Pty Ltd (No 2) [2017] FCA 1562

The respondent acted unreasonably both by abandoning its consent to substitution and adopting the point that there was no jurisdiction to substitute an employer whose name was not identical to the name on the Fair Work Commission certificate, and by persisting with that point on appeal. The proposition was untenable and no good reason for it was advanced. Those unreasonable acts caused the appellant to incur the costs of the FCCA proceeding and the appeal, justifying an order under s 570(2)(b) of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth).

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
19 December 2017
Procedural Posture
Fair Work Costs Application on Appeal / Heard on the Papers After Appeal Allowed and Matter Remitted
Outcome
Costs ordered for the appellant.
Legal Topics
['fair Work Act Costs Orders' 'unreasonable Act or Omission' 'general Protections Proceedings' 'substitution of Respondent']
['employment and Industrial Relations' 'costs'] ['fair Work Act Costs Orders' 'unreasonable Act or Omission' 'general Protections Proceedings' 'substitution of Respondent']

Case Brief

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Procedural Posture

Fair Work Costs Application on Appeal / Heard on the Papers After Appeal Allowed and Matter Remitted

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether circumstances existed to warrant a costs order under s 570(2) of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth).' 'Whether the respondent acted unreasonably by abandoning consent to substitution of the true employer and adopting the jurisdictional point before the primary judge.' 'Whether the respondent acted unreasonably by persisting with the jurisdictional point on the appeal.']

Ratio Decidendi

The respondent acted unreasonably both by abandoning its consent to substitution and adopting the point that there was no jurisdiction to substitute an employer whose name was not identical to the name on the Fair Work Commission certificate, and by persisting with that point on appeal. The proposition was untenable and no good reason for it was advanced. Those unreasonable acts caused the appellant to incur the costs of the FCCA proceeding and the appeal, justifying an order under s 570(2)(b) of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth).

Court Disposition

Costs ordered for the appellant.

Orders

  • ["The respondent pay the appellant's costs of the application before the Federal Circuit Court of Australia in MLG2576/2016 and of the appeal in this Court."]