Australian Education Union v Department of Education and Children's Services [2011] HCATrans 22

The High Court of Australia heard an application for special leave to appeal in *Australian Education Union v Department of Education and Children's Services*. The applicant, the Australian Education Union, sought to challenge a decision of the Full Federal Court concerning the interpretation of a workplace agreement. The respondent was the Department of Education and Children's Services.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether the Full Federal Court had erred in its interpretation of clause 10.1 of the *South Australian Public Sector Enterprise Bargaining Agreement 2007* (the Agreement). Specifically, the dispute concerned whether the Department was entitled to deduct from an employee's salary the amount of any payment made to that employee under the Agreement for a period when the employee was absent from duty without pay.

Gummow, Crennan and Kiefel JJ considered the text of clause 10.1 and relevant provisions of the *Fair Work Act 2009* (Cth). Their Honours noted that the Full Federal Court had found that the Agreement did not permit the deduction of payments made under the Agreement for periods of unpaid leave. The High Court granted special leave to appeal, indicating that the appeal would proceed to be heard.