Fegan v Jackson

In the Federal Court, Fegan applied for interim orders against Jackson, the National Secretary of a union, to compel her to apply to the Industrial Registrar for certification of rule changes made by the Branch Committee. The Union had rules registered under the Workplace Relations Act and the Branch Committee had amended the rules in certain respects. Fegan had sent a letter to Jackson requesting her to comply with the union's rules and apply to the Industrial Registrar for certification of the changes to the rules. Jackson had not responded to the request, and Fegan was concerned that Jackson had no intention of complying with the requirements of the union's rules or the regulations. The court had to determine whether the interim orders should be granted to require Jackson to apply forthwith to the Industrial Registrar for certification of the rule changes.

The court considered the role of the Industrial Registrar before certification of changes to the rules, and the test for interim orders. The court held that the Registrar had no power to certify a rule change unless it was accompanied by a declaration signed by an authorised officer of the organisation, stating that the rule change was made in accordance with the rules of the organisation. The court also held that the test for interim orders was whether the applicant had made out a prima facie case that the respondent had no real prospect of succeeding at the hearing of the substantive application and that there was no satisfactory way of protecting the applicant's rights other than by the grant of the interim orders. The court found that Fegan had made out a prima facie case that Jackson had no real prospect of succeeding at the hearing of the substantive application and that there was no satisfactory way of protecting Fegan's rights other than by the grant of the interim orders.

The court granted the application for interim orders, requiring Jackson to apply forthwith to the Industrial Registrar for certification of the rule changes. The court also ordered that the application be listed for a directions hearing to determine the appropriate time for the return of the interim orders.