Goodfellow and Secretary, Department of Employment

This matter concerned an appeal by Mr Goodfellow against a decision by the Secretary of the Department of Employment regarding his eligibility for an advance under the *Fair Entitlements Guarantee Act 2012* (Cth). The core of the dispute was whether Mr Goodfellow's employment had effectively ended with Silverbrook and transferred to Priority Matters, or if his employment with Silverbrook continued until his resignation. The appeal was heard by K Millar M.

The legal issues before the court were whether Mr Goodfellow's employment with Silverbrook had terminated prior to his resignation on 28 October 2013, and if so, whether this termination occurred less than six months before an insolvency event in relation to Silverbrook. The Secretary contended that Mr Goodfellow's employment had transferred to Priority Matters, evidenced by payslips, a PAYG payment summary, a Certificate of Employment, and Mr Goodfellow's knowledge of the intended transfer without objection.

The court found that for Mr Goodfellow's employment to transfer to Priority Matters, his contract with Silverbrook would have needed to be terminated and a new contract entered into, or the existing contract varied to substitute Priority Matters as the employer. The court noted the absence of evidence of termination notice under the contract, nor evidence of grounds for termination. Mr Goodfellow's continued use of Silverbrook equipment and email, his holding out as an employee of Silverbrook, and his resignation letter directed to Silverbrook were inconsistent with a termination of his employment with Silverbrook. The court accepted Mr Goodfellow's evidence that he did not consent to a transfer of employment. Consequently, the court concluded that Mr Goodfellow remained an employee of Silverbrook until his resignation on 28 October 2013. As an insolvency event occurred in relation to Silverbrook on 16 April 2014, Mr Goodfellow was an employee of Silverbrook less than six months before this event, satisfying the criteria for an advance under the Act.

The decision of the Secretary was set aside, and it was determined that Mr Goodfellow was eligible for an advance under section 10 of the *Fair Entitlements Guarantee Act 2012*.