Lisa Doust

Turner v Justice & Forensic Mental Health Network [2016] NSWCATAD 265

ADMINISTRATIVE LAW – access to government information – access application – reasonableness of searches - excluded information -  Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009.

Lisa Doust appeared for the Justice & Forensic Mental Health Network.

East Coast Pipeline Pty Ltd v Workers' Compensation Regulator [2016] QIRC 101

WORKERS' COMPENSATION - APPEAL AGAINST DECISION – whether psychological injury sustained - whether employment the major contributing factor to any injury - whether decompensation causally connected with management action – whether injury arose out of or in the course of reasonable management action.

Lisa Doust appeared for the appellants.

Reasons for the decision can be found here.

Smit Lamnalco Towage (Australia) Pty Ltd [2016] FWC 5630

EMPLOYMENT - Application for an order relating to instruments covering new employer and transferring employees – transferrable instrument – application that transferable instrument will not cover transferring employees – Fair Work Act 2009ss.311312317318.

Lisa Doust appeared for the Maritime Union of Australia

Port Kembla Coal Terminal Ltd v Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union [2016] FCAFC 99

INDUSTRIAL LAW – Redundancy – Agreement clause requiring recourse to “redeployment and voluntary redundancy” – Whether employer obliged to offer redundancy separation to employees whose positions continued to exist – Agreement clause requiring investigation of “all avenues to avoid forced redundancies, including the reduction of contractors” – Whether confined to contractors engaged on fulltime, permanent, basis – Whether employer had undertaken investigation.

INDUSTRIAL LAW – Obligation to consult where introduction of “change” being considered – Whether change was “major” – Whether introduction of change being “considered” – Potential impact of change on dayworkers – Whether employed on day shift – Whether “a change to the numbers of employees per shift.”

INDUSTRIAL LAW – Adverse action – Dismissed of employee – Whether done because of employee’s position as officer of trade union or his having engaged in industrial activity – Reasons of decisionmaker – Onus of proof – Credibility of witness.

EVIDENCE – Credibility of witnesses – Witnesses’ evidence rejected for reasons which included their failure to refer, in their affidavits, to documents and facts which were unhelpful to their case – Whether they testified that their affidavits were comprehensive – Whether they were given sufficient warning that their omissions might result in the rejection of their evidence.

INDUSTRIAL LAW – Remedies – Reinstatement – Whether available where position previously occupied no longer existed.

Lisa Doust appeared for the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union

Re Essential Energy [2016] FWC 3338

INDUSTRIAL LAW - Termination of protected industrial action notified by the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia (CEPU) - order under under s.424 of the Fair Work Act 2009

Lisa Doust appeared for the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia

Inco Ships Pty Ltd v The Australian Institute of Marine and Power Engineers and another [2016] FWCFB 3370

INDUSTRIAL LAW - appeal against an interim decision of Commissioner on application by Inco for the approval of the Inco Ships Pty Ltd Officer Collective Agreement 2015 Shipping Services (Agreement) pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009

Lisa Doust appeared for the Maritime Union of Australia.

CPSU, the Community and Public Sector Union [2016] FWC 985

FAIR WORK - Application for consent to alteration of eligibility rules – Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009 s.158(1)  - Application for alteration of eligibility rulesprivatisation of Home Care Service of NSW – transfer of employees to Australian Unity Home Care Service Pty Ltd – application to continue to cover transferring employees who were previously covered – application granted.

Lisa Doust appeared for the Australian Municipal, Administrative, Clerical and Services Union.

MPJEL Care Pty Ltd v NSW Department of Industry (Vocational Training Review Panel) [2016] NSWCATAD 59

PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE – summons to produce documents – whether legitimate forensic purpose for summonsing handwritten notes made by a member of the Vocational Training Review Panel during a hearing of a complaint – nature of an external appeal.

LEGISLATION: Apprenticeship and Traineeship Act 2001 (NSW), ss 39, 44 , 46, 47, 51(1)(c), 53, 55; Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2013 (NSW), ss 29(2)(a), 38, 48, 79.

Lisa Doust appeared for the applicants.

Australian Municipal, Administrative, Clerical and Services Union v Essential Energy [2015] FWC 8971

INDUSTRIAL - Fair Work Act 2009 s.739 - Application to deal with a dispute - Alleged dispute concerning the placement of employees into a meaningful work placement under the Essential Energy Enterprise Agreement 2013 and the Management of Surplus Employees Policy.

Lisa Doust appeared for the Australian Municipal, Administrative, Clerical and Services Union & Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia.

Maritime Union of Australia v Skilled Group Limited [2015] FWC 8312

INDUSTRIAL - Fair Work Act 2009 s.739 - Application to deal with a dispute - Dispute settlement procedure - interpretation of terms of enterprise agreement and related Award - disputed terms dealing with payment of accrued personal leave when employees made redundant - further contest about redundancy payments in respect of periods of casual employment - whether terms of relevant Award and enterprise agreement obliged payment - surrounding circumstances - no ambiguity found - application granted in part - Parties to consult as to any Order.

Lisa Doust appeared for the Maritime Union of Australia.

The Australian Maritime Officers' Union [2015] FWC 8003

INDUSTRIAL - Application for a scope order - application for approval of an enterprise agreement - application for scope order dismissed - challenge to application for approval of enterprise agreement upon grounds of group not fairly chosen and agreement not genuinely agreed - enterprise agreement approved.

Lisa Doust appeared for the Australian Maritime Officers' Union.

Parker v Secretary Department of Education and Communities [2015] NSWIRComm 1020

UNFAIR DISMISSAL – Jurisdiction – dismissal – when resignation can be regarded as dismissal for purposes of Act – constructive dismissal – determination of whether a termination was in fact a constructive dismissal to be arrived at by a transactional analysis – ultimatum provided - no negotiations after ultimatum provided – dismissal – jurisdiction lies.

CFMEU v Port Kembla Coal Terminal Ltd (No 2) [2015] FCA 1088

INDUSTRIAL LAW – Breach of industrial agreement – Principles regarding construction of industrial agreement – Meaning of consultation in industrial agreements Breach of consultation obligation in industrial agreement – When obligation to consult arises Whether consultation was genuine – Whether consultation was timely – Whether employees given meaningful opportunity to affect a decision – Whether relevant information to enable consultation was required to be provided Breach of obligation to use redeployment and voluntary redundancy before implementing compulsory redundancy – Breach of obligation to investigate all avenues to avoid compulsory redundancy – Breach of obligation to investigate reducing contractors Employment Whether employer took adverse action against employee for a prohibited reason – Sections 340 and 346 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) – Onus of proof upon an employer in a claim of adverse action – Evidence necessary to discharge the onus under s 361 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) – Accessorial liability in a claim of adverse action.

Farah v Elias [2015] NSWSC 1417

COSTS – where plaintiff sought prerogative relief with respect to proceedings in NCAT – where proceedings in this Court not pursued – where costs of proceedings to be determined by reference to issues that remain undecided in NCAT– whether plaintiff in this Court would have succeeded in NCAT – where costs should be paid by the defendant whose proceedings in NCAT were likely to fail.

Nixon v Cal Dive International (Australia) Pty Ltd [2015] FCCA 2614

INDUSTRIAL LAW – Application pursuant to s.370(a)(ii) of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (Act) for extension of time within which to make a general protections court application – whether applicant has a meritorious case if extension granted – whether applicant has reasonable explanation for delay – whether otherwise appropriate to grant extension – extension granted.

CFMEU v v Port Kembla Coal Terminal Limited [2015] FWCFB 4075

EMPLOYMENT - Appeal against decision  [2015] FWC 2384 - workplace drug testing comprising urine and oral fluid random testing - whether either method of testing establishes impairment - whether implementation unjust or unreasonable - error by Commissioner established - permission to appeal granted - appeal upheld - on reconsideration of dispute implementation of preferred method of random drug testing in circumstances of the employer not unjust or unreasonable.

CFMEU v v Port Kembla Coal Terminal Limited [2015] FWCFB 4075 (19 August 2015)