Air Link Pty Ltd v Paterson

Air Link Pty Ltd (the appellant) appealed to the High Court of Australia against a decision of the Full Federal Court, which had affirmed a judgment in favour of Mr Paterson (the respondent). The dispute concerned the respondent's entitlement to long service leave under the *Long Service Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Act 1976* (Cth) (the Act). The respondent had been employed by the appellant, a company that provided air charter services, and had previously been employed by the Commonwealth. The core of the dispute was whether the respondent's employment with the Commonwealth constituted "service" for the purposes of calculating his long service leave entitlement under the Act, despite his subsequent employment with a private company.

The High Court was required to determine whether the respondent's prior service with the Commonwealth qualified as "service" for the purposes of the *Long Service Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Act 1976* (Cth), notwithstanding that his subsequent employment was with a private entity, Air Link Pty Ltd. Specifically, the court had to consider the interpretation of "service" within the context of the Act and whether it encompassed periods of employment with entities other than the Commonwealth, particularly where such service preceded employment with a company that had contracted with the Commonwealth.

The High Court, comprising Gleeson CJ and Hayne J, allowed the appeal. Their Honours reasoned that the Act's definition of "service" was confined to service with the Commonwealth or a public authority. They held that the respondent's employment with Air Link Pty Ltd, a private company, did not constitute "service" under the Act, even though Air Link provided services to the Commonwealth. The Act was intended to regulate long service leave for Commonwealth employees, and its provisions did not extend to employees of private contractors. Therefore, the respondent's prior service with the Commonwealth could not be aggregated with his service with Air Link for the purposes of calculating long service leave under the Act. The appeal was allowed, and the judgment of the Full Federal Court was set aside.