Application by David Porra Summary

[2025] FWC 844

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION AND ORDER

Fair Work Act 2009

s.372—General protections

Application by David Porra

(C2025/839)

DEPUTY PRESIDENT EASTON

SYDNEY, 26 MARCH 2025

Application to deal with contraventions not involving dismissal –application fee not paid or waived – application not made in accordance with the Act – application dismissed.

On 1 February 2025 Mr David Porra made a general protections application under s.372 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth).

Mr Porra’s application was not made in accordance with the Act (per s.587(1)(a)) because the prescribed fee (per s.373) has not been paid or waived. Section 587(1)(a) allows the Commission to dismiss Mr Porra’s application without conducting a hearing, so long as the applicant has been afforded procedural fairness.

Mr Porra has had ample opportunity to rectify the deficiency in the application and also ample opportunity to show why his application should not be dismissed under s.587 (see generally Bond v Carbridge Pty Ltd T/A Carbridge [2024] FWC 1302 at [15]-[16] and the cases cited therein).

I have decided to dismiss Mr Porra’s general protections claim using the power available under s.587(1)(a) and make the following order:

The application under s.372 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) made by Mr David Porra on 1 February 2025 is dismissed.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT
Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case involves an application by David Porra under section 372 of the Fair Work Act 2009, seeking protection against contraventions not involving dismissal. The application was lodged with the Fair Work Commission on 1 February 2025. However, the application was not made in accordance with the Act because the prescribed application fee had not been paid or waived. This non-compliance led to the dismissal of the application without a hearing, as permitted by section 587(1)(a) of the Act, provided that procedural fairness was afforded to the applicant.

The primary legal issue the court had to address was whether the application could be dismissed due to the non-payment of the application fee, which is a mandatory requirement under section 373 of the Fair Work Act. The court referenced Bond v Carbridge Pty Ltd T/A Carbridge [2024] FWC 1302, which provided a framework for evaluating such cases. The court considered whether Mr Porra had been given adequate opportunities to rectify the deficiency and to justify why his application should not be dismissed. Given that he had ample time to address the fee issue and did not provide sufficient justification for waiving the fee, the court found that dismissing the application was appropriate.

The Deputy President of the Fair Work Commission, Easton, concluded that the application did not comply with the statutory requirements and dismissed the application under section 587(1)(a). The court emphasised that procedural fairness was observed in the process leading to the dismissal. The decision was made on 26 March 2025, and the court issued an order dismissing Mr Porra's application made on 1 February 2025.

Application by David Porra

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Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

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