Australian Timber Workers' Union v Sydney and Suburban Timber Merchants' Association

This case involved an application to the High Court of Australia by the Australian Timber Workers' Union and the Amalgamated Timber Workers' Union of Australia, New South Wales Branch, seeking a declaration that an order made by the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration was invalid. The order, made under section 20 of the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1904-1934, had restrained a New South Wales State conciliation committee from dealing with certain matters. The dispute arose because the State committee was considering an application for an award that the applicants argued covered employees and employers not bound by existing Federal awards or disputes, and therefore fell outside the scope of section 20.

The legal issues before the High Court were whether the order made by the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration under section 20 of the Act was valid, and specifically, whether it contained a sufficiently precise description of the matters with which the State industrial authority was restrained from dealing. The Court was also required to consider whether section 20 permitted restraint of a State tribunal in relation to persons who were not parties to the Federal industrial dispute or bound by a Federal award.

The High Court determined that an order made under section 20 of the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Act must contain a specific description of the matters with which a State industrial authority is restrained from dealing. The Court reasoned that this specificity is an essential condition for the prohibition in section 20 to become effective. Furthermore, the Court affirmed the principle that a State industrial authority cannot be restrained from dealing with persons who are not parties to the Federal industrial dispute of which the Commonwealth Court has cognizance, nor who are not bound or liable to be bound by a Federal award. The order in question was found to be invalid because it was too general in its terms, failing to specify the matters being restrained and extending to persons not bound by the Federal award or dispute, thereby not satisfying the conditions required for the operation of section 20.

The High Court declared the order of the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration dated 12th April 1935 to be invalid and of no effect. Additionally, the Court ordered that the respondents pay the costs of the application before the High Court, finding the proceedings analogous to an appeal upon fully argued questions.