Aleksic v Commonwealth Bank of Australia

In the Federal Circuit Court, Aleksic initiated proceedings against the Commonwealth Bank of Australia over alleged breaches of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1991. Aleksic sought to amend his initial complaint to include fresh allegations of discrimination which had not been covered in the original complaint. The Commonwealth Bank opposed the amendment, arguing that the new allegations were not within the court's jurisdiction because they had been previously rejected by the Anti-Discrimination Commissioner under section 141 of the Act.

The court needed to decide whether the new allegations of discrimination could be incorporated into the existing complaint, thus allowing the case to proceed in the Federal Circuit Court. Alternatively, the court had to determine whether the new allegations required Aleksic to lodge fresh complaints directly with the Anti-Discrimination Commissioner. The court found that since the new allegations were not within the jurisdiction of the court due to the prior rejection by the Commissioner, the amendment could not provide jurisdiction for the rejected complaint. Consequently, Aleksic was required to make fresh complaints regarding the new allegations directly with the Commission.

The court dismissed the application to amend the complaint, concluding that the new allegations necessitated fresh complaints to be lodged with the Anti-Discrimination Commissioner. In addition, the court granted leave for the parties to be legally represented in the proceeding.