Colley v Futurebrand FHA Pty Ltd

In *Colley v Futurebrand FHA Pty Ltd*, the claimant, Mr Colley, sought to challenge the fairness of his employment contract. The dispute concerned whether Mr Colley retained the right to apply to the Industrial Relations Commission (IRC) for relief under the *Industrial Relations Act 1996* (NSW) after amendments to that Act came into effect. The case was heard in the Court of Appeal of New South Wales.

The central legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the amendments to the *Industrial Relations Act 1996* (NSW) retrospectively extinguished Mr Colley's accrued right to apply to the IRC for relief concerning his employment contract. Specifically, the court had to determine if the right to make such an application had been acquired or accrued before the amending legislation commenced, and if so, whether the amendments operated to divest Mr Colley of that right.

The Court of Appeal held that the amendments to the *Industrial Relations Act 1996* (NSW) did not extinguish Mr Colley's accrued right to apply to the IRC. The court reasoned that the right to apply to the IRC was a procedural right that had vested in Mr Colley at the time he made his application, prior to the commencement of the amending legislation. Applying established principles of statutory interpretation regarding the effect of amendments on accrued rights, the court found that the amendments were not retrospective in operation so as to deprive Mr Colley of his existing right to seek relief.

Consequently, the summons was dismissed, and Mr Colley was ordered to pay the costs of the opponents, including the costs of the second opponent as a submitting party.