Civil Aviation Authority v Ferrier

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) appealed to the High Court of Australia against a decision of the Full Federal Court which had allowed an appeal by Mr Ferrier. Mr Ferrier had been employed by the CAA as an air traffic controller and had been dismissed by the CAA for alleged misconduct. Mr Ferrier sought to challenge his dismissal.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether the CAA, in dismissing Mr Ferrier, had acted in accordance with the requirements of natural justice, specifically the rule against bias. This involved determining whether a reasonable apprehension of bias could arise from the fact that the same person who investigated the alleged misconduct also made the final decision to dismiss Mr Ferrier.

The High Court, by majority, held that the rule against bias required that a decision-maker must not only be impartial but must also appear to be impartial. In this instance, the investigator had gathered the evidence and then made the recommendation for dismissal, which was subsequently adopted by the delegate. This process, the majority found, gave rise to a reasonable apprehension of bias, as the investigator was not in a position to bring an objective and impartial mind to the final decision. The appeal was dismissed.