Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union v Stuart-Mahoney

The appeal was heard by the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia, comprising Mansfield CJ, Allsop P, and Weinberg J. The appeal arose from the Federal Magistrates Court's decision that the appellants, Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) and Deans, had contravened sections 789, 790 and 797 of the Workplace Relations Act 1996 (Cth). The CFMEU and Deans were ordered to pay pecuniary penalties. The CFMEU and Deans appealed the decision, and the appeal was allowed in part. The Court set aside certain orders of the Federal Magistrates Court and varied others. The Court held that the Federal Magistrate erred in finding that Deans had contravened section 797 of the Act in respect of Galea, as the evidence did not support such a finding. The Court also held that the pecuniary penalties imposed were excessive.

The central legal issues before the Court were whether there was action or threat of action having a prejudicial effect on employment, whether the onus of negativing a proscribed reason was reversed by section 809 of the Workplace Relations Act 1996 (Cth), and whether the pecuniary penalties imposed were excessive. The Court considered the evidence and found that there was no action or threat of action having a prejudicial effect on employment in respect of Galea. The Court held that the onus of negativing a proscribed reason was not reversed by section 809 of the Act, and the evidence did not support a finding that Deans had contravened section 797 of the Act in respect of Galea. The Court also found that the pecuniary penalties imposed were excessive and varied the orders of the Federal Magistrates Court accordingly.