Deva v University of Western Sydney

The New South Wales Court of Appeal considered an application for leave to appeal in a dispute between Deva and the University of Western Sydney. The applicant, Deva, had previously been unsuccessful in proceedings for unfair dismissal under the *Workplace Relations Act 1996* (Cth) concerning their termination from employment. Subsequently, Deva lodged a complaint of unlawful dismissal under the *Anti-Discrimination Act 1977* (NSW) in respect of the same termination.

The central legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the proceedings under the *Anti-Discrimination Act 1977* (NSW) were barred by section 170HB(4) of the *Workplace Relations Act 1996* (Cth). This provision generally prevents proceedings from being instituted or continued under a State or Territory law if the subject matter of the proceedings has already been dealt with under the federal Act. The applicant also challenged the primary judge's findings on remitter from a prior Court of Appeal decision, arguing that the primary judge had reversed or failed to consider the earlier ruling.

The Court of Appeal found no error in the primary judge's decision. It was held that the subject matter of the complaint brought under the *Anti-Discrimination Act 1977* (NSW) was not the same as that which had been dealt with in the proceedings under the *Workplace Relations Act 1996* (Cth). Consequently, section 170HB(4) of the federal Act did not operate to bar the discrimination proceedings. The Court concluded that the applicant had failed to demonstrate any error in the primary judge's application of the previous Court of Appeal's ruling.

The application for leave to appeal was dismissed, and the applicant was ordered to pay the costs of the University of Western Sydney.