Director of the Fair Work Building Industry Inspectorate v Ellen (The Longford Gas Plant Case)

The case before the Court involved the Director of the Fair Work Building Industry Inspectorate and several employees of CBI Constructors Pty Ltd, who were engaged in the construction of the Longford Gas Plant. The dispute centred on the employees' industrial action, which the Director claimed constituted admitted contraventions of section 417 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). The industrial action occurred during the currency of an enterprise agreement and was taken in response to the termination of a fellow employee's services. The Director sought declarations and orders regarding the contraventions, and penalties were proposed by the parties. The key legal issues were whether the agreed declarations and orders should be made and whether the penalties should be suspended.

The Court found that the proposed declarations were well-drafted and served to clarify the unlawful nature of the industrial action during the currency of an enterprise agreement. The Court held that the declarations should be made to provide clarity and deter future contraventions. However, the Court did not suspend the penalties as the contraventions were serious and there were no exceptional circumstances warranting suspension. The Court emphasised the importance of upholding the Act's provisions to maintain industrial harmony and the rights of employers and employees.

The Court ordered that the respondents pay pecuniary penalties for their contraventions of the Act. The penalties varied depending on the nature and extent of the contraventions. The First to the Fifteenth, the Seventeenth to the Twenty-Seventh, the Twenty-Ninth to the Thirty-Second, and the Thirty-Fourth to the Forty-Fourth Respondents were each ordered to pay $1,500. The Forty-Sixth to the Fifty-Second Respondents were each ordered to pay $1,000, and the Twenty-Eighth and Forty-Fifth Respondents were each ordered to pay $500. These penalties were to be paid in respect of the contraventions referred to in the Court's decision.