Hillman v The Commonwealth

The appellant, Henry Hillman, representing members of the Amalgamated Engineering Union employed at the Commonwealth dockyard, Cockatoo Island, brought an action against the Commonwealth of Australia. The dispute concerned the ordinary hours of duty for these employees, with the appellant seeking a declaration that their working week should not exceed 44 hours without overtime pay since November 11, 1922. The case was heard in the High Court of Australia.

The central legal issues before the court were whether an award made by the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration, which named the Naval Board, the Minister for Navy, and the Minister for Defence as respondents, was binding on the Commonwealth itself in respect of employment at the Cockatoo Island dockyard. Specifically, the court had to determine if the Commonwealth remained bound by the award, particularly after the administration and control of the dockyard were transferred from the named respondents to other government departments and bodies. The court also considered the application of section 29 of the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1904-1921, concerning successors, assignees, or transmittees of a business.

The court reasoned that the award, while binding on the named executive bodies and ministers as representatives of the Crown, did not inherently bind the Commonwealth generally. The binding effect was limited to the specific activities administered or controlled by those named parties. When the administration and control of the Cockatoo Island dockyard were transferred from the Naval Board and the Minister for Navy to the Prime Minister's Department and subsequently to the Australian Commonwealth Shipping Board, the award ceased to bind the Commonwealth in relation to those operations, as these new administrative bodies were not parties to the award. The court found that section 29 of the Act did not apply because the Commonwealth, as the ultimate owner of the dockyard, could not be its own successor or transmittee in this context.

The appeal was dismissed with costs. The court concluded that the Commonwealth was not legally bound by the award in respect of the Cockatoo Island dockyard after the transfer of control away from the originally named respondents, and therefore the claim for overtime pay could not succeed.