Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union-Construction and General Division, Queensland Northern Territory Divisional Branch

The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) applied to the Fair Work Commission for a right of entry permit for Mr Andrew Temoho, an organiser of the CFMEU. The application was contested by the Fair Work Building and Construction (FWBC), which submitted that Mr Temoho was not a fit and proper person to hold an entry permit. The primary issue was whether Mr Temoho was a fit and proper person to hold an entry permit under section 512 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The Fair Work Commission considered the permit qualification matters set out in section 513 of the Act, including whether Mr Temoho had been convicted of an offence against an industrial law, whether he had been ordered to pay a penalty under an industrial law in relation to action taken by him, and whether he had failed to disclose relevant matters in the application. The Commission found that although Mr Temoho had engaged in unlawful industrial action in the past and had failed to disclose relevant matters in the application, the fact that these contraventions occurred several years ago and that there was no evidence of subsequent relevant findings or penalties led to the conclusion that Mr Temoho was currently a fit and proper person to hold an entry permit. The Commission imposed a condition on the permit that if any findings were made or penalties imposed that were relevant to the permit qualification matters, the permit holder was to notify the Fair Work Commission within two weeks of the finding being made, the penalty imposed, or the proceeding commenced.