Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union v Fair Work Ombudsman

The case of Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union v Fair Work Ombudsman involved the Union and its officials, Andrew Blakeley and Michael Ravbar, who were found to have contravened the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). The dispute centred on the quantum of penalties imposed following a meeting at a construction site where the officials attempted to meet with Union members without proper authorisation. The Union contested the penalties imposed by the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, seeking an appeal on the grounds of the penalties being excessive and not justifiable in the circumstances.

The primary legal issues the court had to address were whether the court could consider the utilitarian value of admissions made by the parties and the relevance of past contraventions in determining the penalties. The court needed to decide if past contraventions determined after the primary judgment could be considered and how the history of the Union's previous contraventions should influence the penalty determination.

The court acknowledged the Union's history of non-compliance, noting that past penalties had not deterred future contraventions. The court accepted that the recent findings of Mr Blakeley's prior contraventions could be considered to demonstrate that his actions in the present case were not isolated incidents. However, the court also recognised that these prior contraventions had not been subject to curial sanction and thus should be given minimal weight. Ultimately, the court re-determined the penalties, setting aside the original penalties imposed by the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia and imposing new penalties that reflected the Union's history of non-compliance while considering the recency and the sanctioned nature of the prior contraventions.

The final orders of the court were to allow the appeal, set aside the original penalties, and impose new penalties on the Union and its officials. The Union was ordered to pay a total of $73,260, Mr Blakeley $6,000, and Mr Ravbar $4,660, all within 28 days. These orders were aimed at ensuring compliance and deterrence in line with the objectives of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth).