Amirbeaggi v Parramatta Eye Centre Pty Ltd

Amirbeaggi (the applicant) brought proceedings against Parramatta Eye Centre Pty Ltd (the respondent) seeking to strike out the respondent's pleading of unfair dismissal. The matter came before Emmett J of the Supreme Court of New South Wales.

The central legal issues before the court were whether the Supreme Court of New South Wales possessed jurisdiction to determine a claim for unfair dismissal under the *Fair Work Act 2009* (Cth). This involved considering whether such a determination would constitute the exercise of judicial or arbitral power, whether the court had associated jurisdiction, and whether an unfair dismissal claim was a civil claim that created justiciable rights. The court also considered whether the contravention of an order for reinstatement or compensation for unfair dismissal under section 390 of the *Fair Work Act 2009* (Cth) was justiciable.

Emmett J reasoned that the jurisdiction to hear and determine claims for unfair dismissal under the *Fair Work Act 2009* (Cth) was vested in the Fair Work Commission and the Federal Court of Australia, not the Supreme Court of New South Wales. His Honour concluded that the jurisdiction conferred by the *Fair Work Act 2009* (Cth) in relation to unfair dismissal was not a civil jurisdiction that could be exercised by a State Supreme Court. Consequently, the application to strike out the pleading of unfair dismissal was dismissed.