Camm and Secretary, Attorney-General's Department

This matter concerned an application by Mr Camm against the Secretary, Attorney-General's Department, relating to entitlements under the Fair Entitlements Guarantee Act 2012 (Cth) (FEG Act) and payment in lieu of notice. The primary dispute revolved around whether two companies, Tetracon and Remcast, were "associated entities" for the purposes of the FEG Act, which would determine if Mr Camm's employer, Tetracon, qualified as a small business employer and was therefore excluded from the FEG Act. A secondary dispute concerned the commencement date of Mr Camm's notice period for termination of employment.

The court was required to determine whether Tetracon and Remcast were associated entities under section 50AAA of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth). This involved an analysis of the definitions of "associated entities" and "control" within that Act, considering factors such as related bodies corporate, control of entities, qualifying investments, significant influence, and the materiality of operations, resources, or affairs. The court also had to determine the correct commencement date for Mr Camm's four-week notice period, given the circumstances of his termination and subsequent communication.

The court found that Tetracon and Remcast were not associated entities. This conclusion was based on the fact that while both companies had the same two joint directors, neither director exercised "control" as defined by the Corporations Act. Furthermore, both companies were 50% owned by unrelated entities, whose shares were in turn wholly owned by individuals who were not associated entities. Consequently, Tetracon was considered a small business employer and excluded from the FEG Act. Regarding the payment in lieu of notice, the court determined that Mr Camm's notice period did not commence on 18 August 2020, as suggested by the termination letter, but rather on 20 August 2020, the date he received the termination email.