Communication, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union v Stanwell Corporation Ltd (No 2)

In the matter of Communication, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union v Stanwell Corporation Ltd (No 2), the Court was presented with an application by the respondent to strike out specific paragraphs from the applicant's statement of claim. The dispute revolves around alleged breaches of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) and the imposition of civil penalties on the respondent. The court was required to determine whether the statement of claim sufficiently outlined the material facts necessary for the respondent to understand the case against it. The central issue was whether the applicant had sufficiently pleaded facts to inform the respondent how its decision was likely to have a significant effect on employees, particularly in relation to consultation obligations under relevant enterprise agreements.

The Court carefully examined the allegations made in paragraphs 19 and 20, which claimed that there were insufficient staff at Tarong to perform certain tasks. The Court found that these paragraphs amounted to mere assertions of conclusions without stating the underlying facts. It was held that such conclusions should not be included in a pleading without supporting factual assertions. The Court also noted that the further particulars provided did not remedy the deficiencies in paragraphs 19 and 20. As a result, the Court concluded that these paragraphs did not provide sufficient material facts as required by r 16.02(1) of the Federal Court Rules 2011 (Cth). Consequently, paragraphs 21 to 25, which relied on paragraphs 19 and 20, were also deemed insufficient and were struck out.

The Court ordered that paragraphs 19 to 23, and specific parts of paragraphs 24 and 25, be struck out from the applicants' statement of claim. The Court also directed that the matter be listed for further directions to be determined at a future date.