Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia v Richard Crookes Constructions Pty Ltd

The Union has applied for a variation to the declarations set out in its Amended Originating Application, with the respondent opposing any variation. The court must decide whether the Union can vary the form of the declarations it had previously sought. The Union has not made an application to amend its Amended Originating Application, and the court holds that the Union should be held to the form of the declarations as sought.

The court considered that, in the absence of an application to amend the Amended Originating Application, it is appropriate to hold the Union to the form of the declarations as sought. The respondent’s opposition to any variation in the form of the declarations was upheld, and the Union was not permitted to vary the form of the declarations it had previously sought. The court imposed penalties upon the respondent and ordered that the respondent pay those penalties to the Union.

The considerations set out in Trade Practices Commission v CSR Ltd were applied in determining the penalty. The contraventions were of sections 501 and 502 of the Fair Work Act, which are designed in part to protect the health and safety of workers and are objectively serious because they affected the investigation of suspected contraventions of obligations relating to such protection. The contraventions had the potential to undermine workers’ safety, and higher penalties were appropriate to secure effective deterrence. The court held that the Union should be held to the form of the declarations as sought and that the respondent should pay the penalties to the Union.