Legal Research
Cases
Emily Craig v Mallee Family Care Community Legal Service

Emily Craig v Mallee Family Care Community Legal Service

Case [2025] FWC 1403

Jurisdiction

Standing

Dispute resolution

Employment & Labour Law

No judgment structure available for this case.

Type to search within this case.

[2025] FWC 1403

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.739—Dispute resolution

Emily Craig
v

Mallee Family Care Community Legal Service

(C2025/2171)

DEPUTY PRESIDENT COLMAN

MELBOURNE, 22 MAY 2025

Application under s 739 – application dismissed

Earlier today, for reasons given on transcript, I dismissed an application made by Emily Craig under s 739 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Act). In short, I determined that the Commission had no authority to deal with the dispute because it was not a dispute in relation to any matter arising under the Mallee Family Care Inc. Enterprise Agreement 2012 or in relation to the National Employment Standards (see clause 24.1).

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Appearances:

E. Craig for herself
M. Kennedy for Mallee Family Care Community Legal Service

Conference details:

2025
Melbourne (be telephone)
22 May

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Details

AGLC: Emily Craig v Mallee Family Care Community Legal Service [2025] FWC 1403
Case: [2025] FWC 1403
Decision Date: 22 MAY 2025

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Emily Craig brought a case against Mallee Family Care Community Legal Service, seeking resolution under section 739 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The applicant, Ms Craig, alleged that the legal service had acted outside the scope of its employment agreement, which is governed by the Mallee Family Care Inc. Enterprise Agreement 2012, or in a way that contravened the National Employment Standards. The dispute was brought before the Fair Work Commission, with Deputy President Colman presiding over the case in Melbourne on 22 May 2025.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the Commission had jurisdiction to hear Ms Craig's application, considering the nature of the dispute and its relation to the Enterprise Agreement or the National Employment Standards. The court had to determine whether the dispute fell within the scope of section 739 of the Act, which pertains to employment matters arising under the Agreement or the Standards.

In dismissing the application, Deputy President Colman found that the Commission lacked authority to resolve the dispute as it did not pertain to any matter arising under the Enterprise Agreement or the National Employment Standards. The Deputy President's reasoning was that Ms Craig's claims did not align with the specific jurisdictional criteria outlined in the Act, thus the Commission could not address the dispute. The court concluded that the matter was not within its purview, leading to the dismissal of the application.

The final orders of the court were that the application made by Emily Craig under section 739 of the Fair Work Act 2009 was dismissed. The decision underscored the importance of ensuring that disputes brought before the Commission fall within the specified jurisdictional boundaries of the Act.

Orders