Australian Federation of Air Pilots v Surveillance Australia Pty Ltd T/A Cobham Aviation Services Australia Special Mission

The case of Australian Federation of Air Pilots v Surveillance Australia Pty Ltd T/A Cobham Aviation Services Australia Special Mission involved a dispute between the pilots and the employer regarding the cancellation of fly-in-fly-out arrangements due to the Covid-19 pandemic and associated government restrictions. The pilots claimed that they had not agreed to change their home bases for a temporary period, and the employer argued that the enterprise agreement permitted such changes. The dispute was brought before the Fair Work Commission.

The central legal issues the court had to address were whether the pilots had agreed to change their home bases and whether the changes were permissible under the terms of the enterprise agreement. The court examined the enterprise agreement and found that it did not explicitly prohibit temporary changes to home bases but also did not specifically allow them. The agreement did, however, state that a change in home base could occur if a new genuine contract of employment was established. The court determined that no new contracts of employment were made, as there was no acceptance of the employer's offers. Therefore, the pilots' home bases were not changed for the purposes of the enterprise agreement.

The court also considered whether an external investigation into the alleged conduct of a senior manager was appropriate. After evaluating the circumstances, the court decided that an investigation was not appropriate in this case. The court then made a determination and issued observations and recommendations to address the fallout from the events leading to this dispute.

The court's final orders included recommendations for the parties to address the consequences of the dispute, with the aim of preventing similar issues in the future. The court also noted that its determination did not preclude the parties from seeking further resolution through other available mechanisms.