Jamie Morgan v Commissioner of Police

Jamie Morgan, a police officer dismissed by the Commissioner of Police, sought judicial review of the decision. The dispute concerned the admissibility and relevance of certain evidence, specifically documentary evidence of Morgan's access to the COPS system and a record of interview with an investigating officer. The matter came before the Court of Appeal of New South Wales.

The central legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether the primary judge erred in not applying section 308H of the *Crimes Act 1900* (NSW) to the applicant's access of the COPS system, whether documentary evidence of this access was relevant for reasons not considered by the primary judge, and whether evidence of a record of interview was incorrectly admitted. Furthermore, the court considered whether the failure of the Full Bench of the Industrial Relations Commission (IRC) to consider all grounds of appeal constituted a jurisdictional error, leading to the incorrect dismissal of Morgan's appeal to that body.

The Court of Appeal found that the Full Bench of the IRC had erred in dismissing the appeal without considering all grounds. It reasoned that this failure amounted to a jurisdictional error, necessitating the setting aside of the IRC's orders. However, the Court of Appeal otherwise dismissed the application, indicating that the substantive issues regarding the evidence and the application of section 308H of the *Crimes Act 1900* were not to be revisited in this proceeding.

Consequently, the Court of Appeal ordered the removal of the record of proceedings from the Full Bench of the IRC into the Court of Appeal, set aside the orders of the Full Bench that dismissed the appeal, and otherwise dismissed the application. The applicant was ordered to pay the respondent's costs.