Alam v National Australia Bank Limited (No.2)

In *Alam v National Australia Bank Limited (No.2)*, the applicant alleged that the respondent, National Australia Bank Limited, took adverse action against them by terminating their employment for a proscribed reason, contrary to the *Fair Work Act 2009* (Cth). The matter came before Judge Altobelli of the Federal Court of Australia.

The central legal issues before the Court were whether adverse action had been taken against the applicant for a prohibited reason, the identification of the relevant decision-makers involved in the termination, and whether the respondent could discharge the reverse onus of proof imposed by the legislation. The Court was also required to consider whether, even if a contravention were established, it should exercise its discretion to grant any relief to the applicant.

Judge Altobelli found that the respondent had discharged the onus of proving that the adverse action was not taken for a proscribed reason. The Court determined that the reasons for the termination were legitimate and unrelated to any protected attribute or activity of the applicant. Consequently, the Court concluded that no contravention of the *Fair Work Act 2009* (Cth) had occurred.

As no contravention was established, the Court did not exercise its discretion to grant any relief to the applicant.