Application by United Voice and National Union of Workers

United Voice and the National Union of Workers applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of their proposed amalgamation. The application followed a ballot of members in which a majority voted in favour of the amalgamation. The matter was heard by Deputy President Kelly who found that the application met the requirements of the relevant legislation. The unions sought review of that decision by the Federal Court.

The central legal issue was whether the Commission had correctly exercised its discretion under section 223 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) in approving the amalgamation. The unions submitted that the Commission had erred in law by failing to take into account the views of members who had voted against the amalgamation. The Court was required to determine whether the Commission's decision was legally sound and whether there had been any jurisdictional error.

The Court held that the Commission had exercised its discretion in accordance with the law. It found that the Commission was not required to give weight to the views of those members who had voted against the amalgamation. The Court noted that the legislation did not impose any obligation on the Commission to consider the views of members who had opposed the amalgamation and that the Commission had not erred in law by failing to do so. The Court further held that the decision to approve the amalgamation was within the scope of the Commission's statutory powers and that there had been no jurisdictional error.

The unions' application for review was dismissed and the decision of the Fair Work Commission approving the amalgamation was upheld. The amalgamation took effect on 11 November 2019.